Diurnal Variation in Densities of Three Species of Lizards — Sitana ponticeriana, Calotes versicolor, and Eutropis bibronii in Relation to Temperature and Relative Humidity Across Different Seasons on Coramandel Coast near Chennai (In

J. Subramanean, M. Vikram Reddy

Abstract


Diurnal variation in population densities of the lizard species — Calotes versicolor, Sitana ponticeriana, and Eutropis bibronii in relation to abiotic factors was studied near Chennai on coromandel coast, India. Higher densities of juveniles of S. ponticeriana were found in early morning (7:50 – 8:55 a.m.) in winter and summer while in southwest and northeast monsoon, the hatchlings were found in large numbers in the evenings (13:35 – 16:20 p.m.). Maximum densities of C. versicolor were found during 7:50 – 8:35 a.m. in winter and summer, 15:50 – 16:20 p.m. in southwest monsoon and 9:55 – 10:20 a.m. in northeast monsoon. Maximum densities of E. bibronii were found during the period 7:15 – 7:45 a.m. in winter, 7:55 – 8:30 a.m. in summer, 10:40 – 11:25 in southwest monsoon, and 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. in northeast monsoon. Juvenile population of S. ponticeriana in scrubland and adults of C. versicolor and E. bibronii, in salai and sand dunes, respectively showed significant relationships with air temperature (P < 0.01). The adult (P < 0.01) and hatchling (P < 0.05) of E. bibronii showed significant relationships with ground temperature. Total densities of adults, juveniles and hatchlings of C. versicolor were found to be influenced by all the abiotic variables (P < 0.05). The total population of E. bibronii showed significant correlation with air temperature (P < 0.01) and ground temperature (P < 0.05).

Keywords


diurnal variation; lizard densities; abiotic factors; monsoon; coefficient correlations; optimal temperature.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2012-19-4-277-283

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