Lizards in the suburbs: a single-garden study of a small endemic New Zealand skink (Oligosoma aeneum) |
| |
Authors: | Ben D. Bell Kelly M. Hare Shirley A. Pledger |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand;2. School of Graduate Research, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand;3. School of Mathematics and Statistics, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand |
| |
Abstract: | Detailed investigations of ecology and life history of lizards in New Zealand/Aotearoa are needed to inform their conservation and management. An early demographic study of copper skinks (Oligosoma aeneum) in a suburban garden was undertaken in Lower Hutt using mark–recapture methods, sampling weekly from March 1971 to December 1973. Oligosoma aeneum were seen on 1372 occasions, with 972 captures of 169 individuals. The maximum snout–vent length was 66 mm, 33% of skinks had complete tails, and colour differences suggested sexual signalling and warrant further study. Most captures occurred over November–March, with fewest over June–August. The estimated spring/summer population size in the garden (± SEM) was 83.6 (± 9.4) skinks, and the annual survival rate (± SEM) was 38.0% (± 16.0%). This is one of the few New Zealand lizard studies that have extended through all months of the year and it adds to limited information on lizard populations in suburban areas. |
| |
Keywords: | Growth rate mark–recapture New Zealand population ecology skinks survival rate |
|
|