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Library Booming during a bust: Asynchronous population responses of arid zone lizards to climatic variables

Booming during a bust: Asynchronous population responses of arid zone lizards to climatic variables

Booming during a bust: Asynchronous population responses of arid zone lizards to climatic variables

Resource information

Date of publication
December 2012
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
AGRIS:US201400007982
Pages
51-61

The productivity of arid environments and the reproductive success of vertebrates in these systems, are typically thought to be primarily influenced by rainfall patterns. Data from our 15 year study at an Australian arid zone site reveals asynchronous demographic responses to rainfall and other climatic variables among different lizard species. We show that, in addition to precipitation, key demographic rates (fecundity, recruitment and survival) are correlated strongly with temporal variability in temperature, during and prior to the breeding season, and also to the density of sympatric lizard species. There were nine-fold fluctuations through time in the relative abundance of two similar-sized Ctenotus species, and asynchronous recruitment success and survival among other species, despite the absence of direct anthropogenic affects Understanding the drivers and magnitude of the substantial natural variability in arid-zone lizard assemblages is integral to predicting and interpreting their responses to future land use or climate-change scenarios.

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Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Read, John L.
Kovac, Kelli-Jo
Brook, Barry W.
Fordham, Damien A.

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