Abstract

CABRERA, María Paula  and  SCROCCHI, Gustavo José. Activity patterns and abundance of a population of Liolaemus espinozai Abdala, 2005 (Iguania: Liolaemidae) in Campo el Arenal, Catamarca, Argentina. Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2014, vol.30, n.3, pp.459-470. ISSN 2448-8445.

Activity patterns and relative abundances were investigated of Liolaemus espinozai, an endemic species from Campo El Arenal (Catamarca, Argentina), between 2007 and 2010. There were a total of 1694 sightings (865 adults, 620 juveniles and 209 hatchlings). Male adults are active from October, followed by females one month later until May; juveniles are active throughout the year, and hatchlings are added to the population in late January or early February, so this is the time with the greatest total abundance. Adults were more abundant in spring and summer, and juveniles in autumn. Adult males are more abundant than females in spring (breeding season), while these are in the summer (post-reproductive season). The species exhibits a bimodal pattern of activity in the months of higher temperatures, and unimodal in the rest of the months. The different activity patterns found in adult males and females, juveniles and hatchlings are related in a different way with temperature, photoperiod and rainfall.

Keywords : Liolaemus espinozai; activity; abundance; Catamarca.

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