New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts

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Diet and life history variation in the sympatric lizards Oligosoma nigriplantare polychroma and Oligosoma lineoocellatum

N. J. SPENCER¹

Landcare Research
Private Bag 1930
Dunedin, New Zealand

B. W. THOMAS²
R. F. MASON
J. S. DUGDALE

Landcare Research
Private Bag 6
Nelson, New Zealand

¹email: spencern@landcare.cri.nz.

²email: thomasb@landcare.cri.nz.

Abstract  We investigated life history traits (body sizes, sexual maturity, sexual dimorphism, clutch size) and dietary preferences in the sympatric lizards, Oligosoma nigriplantare polychroma and Oligosoma lineoocellatum (Scincidae). One-hundred and forty O. n. polychroma and 153 O. lineoocellatum were collected for a twelve month period. Our results show that these sympatric species have different life history traits, notably in body size, size at maturity, and reproductive output. O. n. polychroma were smaller (51.72 mm adult males, 56.74 mm adult females) than O. lineoocellatum (70.70 mm adult males, 76.30 mm adult females). Size at maturity was determined by logistic regression models of snout-vent length (SVL) for both species. O. n. polychroma reached sexual maturity at a relatively smaller SVL (42.21 mm) than O. lineoocellatum (62.11 mm), and had a larger mean clutch size (5.79) than O. lineoocellatum (3.82). There were some differences in diet, although both species consumed a wide range of prey, including spiders, worms, beetles, and millipedes.

Keywords  diet; body size; life history; maturity; clutch size; lizards; skink; Oligosoma

Z97030
Received 30 July 1997; accepted 3 July 1998

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (543K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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