Path to extinction: Impact of vegetational change on lizard populations on Arapaho Prairie in the Nebraska sandhills
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Authors: R. E. Ballinger, and K. S. Watts
Date: 1995
Journal: American Midland Naturalist
Volume: 134
Number: 2
Pages: 413-417
Summary of Methods: The effects of continued changes in vegetation over the past 10 years of protection from grazing on Arapaho Prairie in Nebraska on lizard populations were examined. Individual lizard captures were recorded 3-5 times per week from June to August. The time of capture, location of capture and vegetation type were also recorded during 1978, 1984, and 1993. The resident population was defined as those lizards having the center of their home ranges within the grid or those captured two or more times during the 3-mo period. Individuals captured only once within the grid were considered potential residents.
Article Summary / Main Points: Prior to livestock exclusion, 74 Holbrookia maculata were found, while only three were found after 14 years of no livestock grazing. The population of Sceloporus undulatus went from 56 to 30 residents pre- and post-grazing exclusion, respectively. Preferred microhabitats occupied by lizards have not changed, but their microgeographic distributions have shifted to areas of blowouts, and home ranges have decreased. Increased forage production on the site took away the prime open habitat that the lizards thrive in. The removal of cattle grazing seems to have had a negative effect on the lizard abundance of this area.
Vegetation Types: Tallgrass Prairie
MLRA Ecoregions: 65 Nebraska Sand Hills
Agrovoc Control Words: Prairies Grazing Amphibians
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Documented Case History
Keywords: blowouts, grazing removal, vegetation density, local extirpation
Annotation: The findings of this ten year study are applicable to tall grass prairies. These results illustrate the impacts of removing grazing and other disturbances from the tall grass prairie on the lizard community. Additionally, Ballinger and Jones (1985, Prai. Nat. 17:91-100) studied the impacts of ecological disturbances on lizard communities on Arapaho Prairie, Nebraska.
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