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Microhabitat Variation Explains Local‐scale Distribution of Terrestrial Amazonian Lizards in Rondônia, Western Brazil
Author(s) -
Garda Adrian A.,
Wiederhecker Helga C.,
Gainsbury Alison M.,
Costa Gabriel C.,
Pyron R. Alexander,
Calazans Vieira Gustavo H.,
Werneck Fernanda P.,
Colli Guarino R.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
biotropica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1744-7429
pISSN - 0006-3606
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2012.00906.x
Subject(s) - lizard , ecology , rainforest , biology , nestedness , abundance (ecology) , biodiversity , geography
We investigate the role of ecology and phylogeny in the association between lizard abundance and microhabitat variables in an A mazon rain forest site. Using pitfall trap arrays, we collected data from 349 individuals belonging to 23 lizard species. After accounting for spatial autocorrelation and using a canonical correspondence analysis ( CCA ), we found that lizard captures were significantly associated with microhabitat variables, which accounted for 48 percent of the observed variation. Furthermore, a canonical phylogenetic ordination ( CPO ) indicated that microhabitat variables are more important in determining the distribution of lizard species than phylogenetic relationships among species. Termite nests, canopy openness, and tree circumference were strongly associated with the number of captures of certain lizard species. Our results confirm autecology studies of individual lizard species for which data are available. We suggest that maintaining heterogeneous forested microhabitats should be a central goal for sustaining a high lizard biodiversity in A mazon rain forests.