Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Breeding Phenology of Psammophilus dorsalis:Patterns in Time, Space and Morphology


Affiliations
1 Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
 

Since reproduction is costly, animals are expected to invest in reproduction when abiotic and biotic conditions are optimal. Although tropical ecosystems are not as starkly seasonal as temperate ecosystems, some tropical ecosystems may experience high seasonality in conditions that affect reproduction. Systematic studies of breeding phenology from tropical ecosystems are scarce. We describe the breeding phenology of Psammophilus dorsalis, a sexually dimorphic, diurnal, rupicolous lizard found in the tropical scrub forests of peninsular India. Regular census was conducted covering multiple habitat patches for three years, recording age and breeding status of lizards. Lizards were systematically caught, tagged, measured and released. We report clear breeding seasonality, with most males showing breeding colouration from May to September and juveniles emerging from September until April. Timing of breeding coincides with the annual peak in daily maximum temperatures, while juvenile emergence might be affected by the timing of the annual precipitation peak. We report that this is a predominantly annual species with a female-biased sex ratio and strong male-biased dimorphism in multiple morphological traits. In the face of climate change, detailed studies of breeding phenology of tropical animals are important, particularly for ectotherms, since these taxa are easily affected by changes in temperature and precipitation patterns.

Keywords

Agamids, Breeding Phenology, India, Lizards, Reptiles, Tropical.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Charmantier, A., McCleery, R. H., Cole, L. R., Perrins, C., Kruuk, L. E. and Sheldon, B. C., Adaptive phenotypic plasticity in response to climate change in a wild bird population. Science, 2008, 320(5877), 800–803.

  • Walther, G.-R. et al., Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature, 2002, 416(6879), 389–395.

  • Wyndham, E., Length of birds’ breeding seasons. Am. Nat., 1986, 128(2), 155–164.

  • Sinclair, A., Mduma, S. A. and Arcese, P., What determines phenology and synchrony of ungulate breeding in Serengeti? Ecology, 2000, 81(8), 2100–2111.

  • Hijmans, R. J., Cameron, S. E., Parra, J. L., Jones, P. G. and Jarvis, A., Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas. Int. J. Climatol., 2005, 25(15), 1965–1978.

  • Kerkhoff, A. J. and Enquist, B. J., Ecosystem allometry: the scaling of nutrient stocks and primary productivity across plant communities: Ecosystem allometries. Ecol. Lett., 2006, 9(4), 419–427.

  • Dunn, P., Breeding dates and reproductive performance. Adv. Ecol. Res., 2004, 35, 69–87.

  • Lyman, C. P., Hibernation and Torpor in Mammals and Birds, Elsevier, 2013.

  • Moore, J. A., Temperature tolerance and rates of development in the eggs of amphibia. Ecology, 1939, 20(4), 459.

  • Reading, C. J., The effect of winter temperatures on the timing of breeding activity in the common toad Bufo bufo. Oecologia, 1998, 117(4), 469–475.

  • Le Galliard, J. F., Marquis, O. and Massot, M., Cohort variation, climate effects and population dynamics in a short-lived lizard: cohort effects in a short-lived lizard. J. Anim. Ecol., 2010, 79(6), 1296–1307.

  • Cook, D. G., Trenham, P. C. and Northen, P. T., Demography and breeding phenology of the California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense) in an urban landscape. Northwest. Nat., 2006, 87(3), 215.

  • Forchhammer, M. C., Post, E. and Stenseth, N. C., Breeding phenology and climate. Nature, 1998, 391(6662), 29–30.

  • Olsson, M. and Shine, R., Does reproductive success increase with age or with size in species with indeterminate growth? A case study using sand lizards (Lacerta agilis). Oecologia, 1996, 105(2), 175–178.

  • Smith, M. A., The Fauna of British India, Taylor and Francis; 1935.

  • Radder, R. S., Saidapur, S. K. and Shanbhag, B. A., Population density, microhabitat use and activity pattern of the Indian rock lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis (Agamidae). Curr. Sci., 2005, 89(3), 560–566.

  • Rachakonda, S., Deodhar, S. and Kulkarni, Y., Predation on Hemidactylus treutleri (Squamata: Gekkonidae) by the peninsular rock agama Psammophilus dorsalis (Squamata: Agamidae) in Rishi Valley, Andhra Pradesh, India. Herpetol. Notes, 2010, 3, 33–35.

  • Mahapatro, N. N., Begum, K. A., Behera, H. N. and Patnaik, B. K., Age-determination in the lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis, (Gray). J. Anim. Morphol. Physiol., 1989, 36(1), 73–80.

  • Radder, R. S., Saidapur, S. K. and Shanbhag, B. A., Big boys on top: effects of body size, sex and reproductive state on perching behaviour in the tropical rock dragon, Psammophilus dorsalis. Anim. Biol., 2006, 56(3), 311–321.

  • Fisher, M. and Muth, A., A technique for permanently marking lizards. Herpetol. Rev., 1989, 20(2), 45–46.

  • R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2016; (available from http://www.R-project.org/).

  • Shanbhag, B. A. et al., Demography of fan-throated lizard, Sitana ponticeriana (Cuvier) in a cotton field in Dharwad District of Karnataka State, India. Curr. Sci., 2003, 85(9), 1363–1366.

  • Massot, M., Clobert, J., Chambon, A. and Michalakis, Y., Vertebrate natal dispersal: the problem of non-independence of siblings. Oikos, 1994, 70(1), 172.

  • Trivers, R. L., Parental investment and sexual selection. In Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man (ed. Campbell, B.), 1871–1971. Chicago: Aldine-Atherton; 1972, pp. 136–179.


Abstract Views: 391

PDF Views: 116




  • Breeding Phenology of Psammophilus dorsalis:Patterns in Time, Space and Morphology

Abstract Views: 391  |  PDF Views: 116

Authors

Shreekant Deodhar
Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
Kavita Isvaran
Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India

Abstract


Since reproduction is costly, animals are expected to invest in reproduction when abiotic and biotic conditions are optimal. Although tropical ecosystems are not as starkly seasonal as temperate ecosystems, some tropical ecosystems may experience high seasonality in conditions that affect reproduction. Systematic studies of breeding phenology from tropical ecosystems are scarce. We describe the breeding phenology of Psammophilus dorsalis, a sexually dimorphic, diurnal, rupicolous lizard found in the tropical scrub forests of peninsular India. Regular census was conducted covering multiple habitat patches for three years, recording age and breeding status of lizards. Lizards were systematically caught, tagged, measured and released. We report clear breeding seasonality, with most males showing breeding colouration from May to September and juveniles emerging from September until April. Timing of breeding coincides with the annual peak in daily maximum temperatures, while juvenile emergence might be affected by the timing of the annual precipitation peak. We report that this is a predominantly annual species with a female-biased sex ratio and strong male-biased dimorphism in multiple morphological traits. In the face of climate change, detailed studies of breeding phenology of tropical animals are important, particularly for ectotherms, since these taxa are easily affected by changes in temperature and precipitation patterns.

Keywords


Agamids, Breeding Phenology, India, Lizards, Reptiles, Tropical.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv113%2Fi11%2F2120-2126