2024/01/01 by Rafaella Silva Roseno, Daniela Pareja-Mejía, Laisa S. dos Santos +5 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Atlantic forest #Biology #Ecology #Geography #Litter #Lizard #Plant and animal studies #Squamata #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Zoology
paper · doi:10.1590/0001-3765202420230728
published in Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 96(3), e20230728 (Brazilian Academy of Sciences)
openalex publication_date 2024/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
The ecology of movement is an expanding area, marked by the diversity of analytical methods and protocols, which enables this integrative reading. We investigated movement ecology aspects of Coleodactylus meridionalis in southern Bahia, northeastern Brazil, using fluorescent powder with mineral oil to track individuals. We monitored 69 individuals of C. meridionalis that walked an average distance of 148 cm in 2h. We identified this movement as foraging due to the orientation of the step sequence and microenvironments used. We find no significant differences between walking distance and weight. However, we found a decrease in activity over the follow-up period. Most of the lizard's movements were directed north, while south, east, and west were followed equally. The individuals stayed predominantly on the ground (leaf litter), but it was possible to observe the use of other surfaces, such as trunks and burrows on the ground. Therefore, we studied the movement in three dimensions (ground height, distance traveled, and orientation of steps). We observed the lizard's foraging, one of the most common and least investigated movements in small lizards like C. meridionalis. This involves not only the species' activity schedule but other intrinsic and extrinsic factors that shape the movement decisions of individuals.