Date of Award:
5-2004
Document Type:
Thesis
Degree Name:
Master of Science (MS)
Department:
Biology
Committee Chair(s)
Joseph Mendelson, III
Committee
Joseph Mendelson, III
Committee
Edmund Brodie, Jr.
Committee
Gary Belovsky
Abstract
Phrynosoma mcallii inhabiting a topographically complex, sparsely vegetated, "mudhill" terrain site in southern California in 1999 and 2000 had low mortality rates, and small clutch sizes compared to previous data from this species. Females likely produced a single clutch of eggs in each year. Although this population occurs near a heavily used OHV trail, I did not detect any mortality due to OHV use.
Lizards did not center home ranges on obvious habitat features. Lizards maintained smaller home ranges and exhibited greater range fidelity than did lizards at other sites in other years. Phrynosoma mcallii share many area-use characters with other phrynosomatid lizards; males maintain home ranges approximately twice as large as females, and lizards maintain home ranges which overlap home ranges of lizards of the opposite sex more than home ranges of lizards of the same sex.
Checksum
013ec051e6861a76c68b43613493b462
Recommended Citation
Setser, Kirk, "Natural History, Demography, and Home Range Characteristics of a Southern California Population of Phrynosoma mcallii Inhabiting Atypical Habitat" (2004). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023. 8280.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/8280
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