NDLI: Why do lizards avoid weeds?

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Hacking, Jessica Abom, Rickard Schwarzkopf, Lin
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	Invasion of native habitats by exotic plants often causes reductions in faunal diversity. However, there is little direct evidence of native fauna actively avoiding invaded habitat and few quantitative studies on the mechanisms underlying such avoidance. We quantified alterations made to the composition and physical structure of an Australian tropical savanna by grader grass (Themeda quadrivalvis); an understudied invasive grass that is associated with reduced faunal abundance and diversity. We found that grader grass profoundly changed the physical structure and floral composition of tropical savanna, forming dense lawn-like monocultures unlike the native savanna. Second, we investigated the habitat preferences of small ectotherms in partially invaded habitat, using a rainbow skink (Carlia schmeltzii) as a model system and discovered that they actively avoided grader grass. Finally, we experimentally tested predictions regarding mechanisms that may have driven the avoidance of grader grass. Predation rates and food availability were not likely the cause of grader grass avoidance, because experiments using models deployed in the field showed that predation rates were higher in native grass, and collection of invertebrates in both habitats indicated that prey availability was similar. However, mesocosm experiments on habitat selection in relation to vegetation structure, along with field measures of available operative environmental temperatures, suggested that small ectotherms probably avoid grader-grass-invaded savanna due to a suboptimal thermal environment and lack of appropriate habitat structural heterogeneity.
Starting Page	935
Ending Page	947
Page Count	13
File Format	PDF
ISSN	13873547
Journal	Biological Invasions
Volume Number	16
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	15731464
Language	English
Publisher	Springer International Publishing
Publisher Date	2013-10-01
Publisher Place	Cham
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Environmental operative temperature Habitat alteration Habitat preferences Habitat structure Invasive grass Reptile Ecology Freshwater & Marine Ecology Plant Sciences Developmental Biology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
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3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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