Abstract
A population of frillneck lizards, Chlamydosaurus kingii, was monitored by mark-recapture and telemetry over a 2 year period in Kakadu National Park. The aims of the study were to document changes in diet, growth, condition and habitat use between the wet and dry seasons of northern Australia, in light of recent research examining seasonal variation in the physiology of this species. Frillneck lizards feed on a diverse range of invertebrates in both seasons, even though there is a substantial reduction in food avail-ability in the dry season. Harvester termites from the genus Drepanotermes constitute a major component of the diet, and the prevalence of termites in the diet of sedentary foragers in a tropical environment is unusual. Adult male body condition remained relatively stable throughout the year, but females experienced considerable variation. These differences are attributed to different reproductive roles of the sexes. Growth in C. kingii was restricted to the wet season, when food availability was high, and growth was minimal in the dry season when food availability was low. The method used in catching lizards was an important factor in determining seasonal habitat use. Telemetered lizards selected a significantly different distribution of tree species than was randomly available, and they selected significantly larger tree species during the dry season. Lizards spotted along roadsides showed little seasonal variation in the selection of tree species or tree sizes. The results suggest a comprehensive change in the ecology of this species, in response to an annual cycle of low food and moisture availability, followed by a period with few resource restrictions.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Andrews RM (1979) The lizard Corytophanes cristatus: an extreme “sit and wait” predator. Biotropica 11: 136–139
Andrews RM (1982) Patterns of growth in reptiles. In: Gans C, Pough FH (eds) Biology of the Reptilia, vol 13. Academic Press, New York, pp 273–307
Abensperg-Traun M (1994) The influence of climate on patterns of termite eating in Australian mammals and lizards. Aust J Ecol 19: 65–71
Ballinger RE, Congdon JD (1980) Food resource limitation of body growth rates in Sceloporus scalaris (Sauria: Iguanidae). Copiea 1980: 621–923
Bullock DJ, Jury HM, Evans PGH (1993) Foraging ecology in the lizard Anolis oculatus (Iguanidae) from Dominica, West Indies. J Zool Lond 230: 19–30
Christian KA, Bedford GS (1995) Seasonal changes in thermoregulation by the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, in tropical Australia. Ecology 76: 124–132
Christian KA, Green B (1994) Seasonal energetics and water turnover of the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, in the wet-dry tropics of Australia. Herpetologica 50: 274–281
Christian KA, Tracy CR, Porter WP (1983) Seasonal shift in body temperature and use of microhabitats by Galapagos land iguanas (Conolophus pallidus). Ecology 64: 463–468
Christian KA, Griffiths AD, Bedford GS (1996) Physiological ecology of the frillneck lizards in a seasonal tropical environment. Oecologia 106: 49–56
Churchill SK (1994) Diet, prey selection and foraging behaviour of the orange horseshoe-bat, Rhinonycteris aurantius. Wildl Res 21: 115–130
Cogger H (1992) Reptiles and amphibians of Australia. Reed, Sydney, pp 305–306
Dunham AE (1978) Food availability as a proximate factor influencing individual growth rates in the iguanid lizard Sceloporus merriami. Ecology 59: 770–778
Fleming TH, Hooker RS (1975) Anolis cupreus: the response of a lizard to tropical seasonality. Ecology 56: 1243–1261
Floyd HB, Jenssen TA (1983) Food habits of the Jamaican Anolis opalinus: resource partitioning and the seasonal effects examined. Copeia 1983: 319–331
Goldsmith F, Harrison CM (1976) Description and analysis of vegetation. In: Chapman SB (ed) Methods in plant ecology. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 85–157
Greer A (1989) Biology and evolution of Australian lizards. Surrey Beatty, Sydney
Griffiths AD (1994) The effect of a seasonal environment and fire on the ecology of the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia. MSc thesis, Northern Territory University, Darwin, Australia
Howland JM, Vitt LJ, Topez PT (1990) Life on the edge: the ecology and life history of the tropidurine iguanid lizard Uranoscodon superciliosum. Can J Zool 68: 1366–1373
Huey RB, Piankà ER (1981) Ecological consequences of foraging mode. Ecology 62: 991–999
Huey RB, Pianka ER, Hoffman JA (1977) Seasonal variation in the thermoregulatory behaviour and body temperature of diurnal Kalahari lizards. Ecology 58: 1066–1075
Huey RB, Pianka ER, Schoener TW (eds) (1983) Lizard ecology: studies of a model organism. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass
James CD (1991a) Population dynamics, demography, and life history of sympatric scincid lizards (Ctenotus) in central Australia. Herpetologica 47: 194–210
James CD (1991b) Temporal variation in diets and trophic partitioning by coexisting lizards (Ctenotus: Scincidae) in central Australia. Oecologia 85: 553–561
James CD, Shine R (1985) The seasonal timing of reproduction: a tropical-temperate comparison in Australian lizards. Oecologia 67: 464–474
James CD, Shine R (1988) Life-history strategies of Australian lizards: a comparison between the tropics and the temperate zone. Oecologia 75: 307–316
James CD, Morton SR, Braithwaite RW, Wombey JC (1984) Dietary pathways through lizards of the Alligator Rivers Region. Supervising Scientist for the Alligator Rivers Region Technical Memorandum 6. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, pp 11
Krebs CJ (1985) The experimental analysis of distribution and abundance. Harper and Row, New York
Magnusson WE, De Paiva LJ, Da Rocha RM, Franke CR, Kasper L, Lima AP (1985) The correlates of foraging mode in a community of Brazilian lizards. Herpetologica 41: 324–332
Marken Lichtenbelt WD van (1993) Optimal foraging of a herbivorous lizard, the green iguana in a seasonal environment. Oecologia 95: 246–256
Morton SR, James CD (1988) The diversity and abundance of lizards in arid Australia: a new hypothesis. Am Nat 132: 237–256
Park HC, Majer J, Hobbs RJ, Bae TU (1993) Harvesting rate of the termite, Drepanotermes tamminensis (Hill) within native woodland and shrubland of the Western Australian wheatbelt. Ecol Res 8: 269–275
Paulissen MA (1988) Ontogenetic and seasonal shifts in microhabitat use by the lizard Cnemidophorus sexlineatus. Copeia 1988: 1021–1029
Pianka ER (1986) Ecology and natural history of desert lizards. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Rose B (1981) Factors affecting activity in Sceloporus virgatus. Ecology 62: 706–716
Scott NJ, Wilson DE, Jones C, Andrews RM (1976) The choice of perch dimensions by lizards of the genus Anolis (Reptilia, Lacertilia, Iguanidae). J Herpetol 10: 75–84
Sexton OJ, Bauman J, Ortleb E (1972) Seasonal food habits of Anolis limifrons. Ecology 53: 182–186
Shine R (1986) Food habits, habitats and reproductive biology of four sympatric species of varanid lizards in tropical Australia. Herpetologica 42: 346–360
Shine R (1990) Function and evolution of the frill of the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii (Sauria: Agamidae). Biol J Linn Soc 40: 11–20
Shine R, Lambeck R (1989) The ecology of the frillneck Lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii (Agamidae), in tropical Australia. Aust Wildl Res 16: 491–500
Stamps JA (1977a) The function of the survey position in Anolis lizards. Copiea 1977: 756–758
Stamps JA (1977b) Rainfall, moisture and dry season growth rates in Anolis aeneus. Copeia 1977: 415–419
Stamps JA, Tanaka S (1981) The influence of food and water on growth rates in a tropical lizard (Anolis aeneus). Ecology 62: 33–44
Stamps JA, Tanaka S, Krishnan VV (1981) The relationship between selectivity and food abundance in a juvenile lizard. Ecology 62: 1079–1092
Vitt LJ (1991a) Ecology and natural history of the wide-foraging lizard Kentropyx calcarata (Teiidae) in Amazonian Brazil. Can J Zool 69: 2791–2799
Vitt LJ (1991b) Ecology and life history of the scansorial arboreal lizard Plica plica (Iguanidae) in Amazonian Brazil. Can J Zool 69: 504–511
Vitt LJ (1993) Ecology of isolated open-formation Tropidurus (Reptilia: Tropiduridae) in Amazonian lowland rain forest. Can J Zool 71: 2370–2390
Vitt LJ, Blackburn SR (1991) Ecology and life history of the viviparous lizard Mabuya bistriata (Scincidae) in the Brazilian Amazon. Copiea 1991: 916–927
Vitt LJ, Zani PA, Caldwell JP, Durtsche RD (1993) Ecology of the whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus deppii on a tropical beach. Can J Zool 71: 2391–2400
Watson JAL (1974) Caste development and its seasonal cycle in the Australian harvester termite, Drepanotermes perniger (Froggatt) (Isoptera: Termitinae). Aust J Zool 22: 471–487
Watson JAL, Perry DH (1981) The Australian harvester termites of the genus Drepanotermes (Isoptera: Termitinae). Aust J Zool 78: 1–153
Zucker N (1986) Perch height preferences of male and female tree lizards, Urosaurus ornatus: a matter of food competition or social role? J Herpetol 20: 547–553
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Griffiths, A.D., Christian, K.A. Diet and habitat use of frillneck lizards in a seasonal tropical environment. Oecologia 106, 39–48 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00334405
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00334405