Spatial organisation and behaviour of Chlamydosaurus kingii

: a preliminary assessment

Abstract

A preliminary investigation was conducted on the spatial organisation and behaviour of adult male and female frillneck lizards, Chlamydosaurus kingii, during/dry season, 1--- which corresponds to their non-breeding season. The study was conducted in an urban park containing high densities of C. kingii. Radio-telemetry and a combination of scan and focus sampling were used to record location and behaviour (respectively) of individuals over four independent time periods. Lizards remained inactive during dry season months, perched in the canopy of trees and rarely changing location. As the dry season progressed, home ranges of male and female lizards increased. However, females remained perched in tree canopies while males increased the number of location changes per unit time and displayed a range of behaviours, particularly the larger individuals sampled. The results suggest that C. kingii employ a polygynous mating strategy. An understanding of the spatial organisation and mating system of a species is important to its conservation and management because these attributes help explain the distribution and regulation of a population. The next step will be further investigation into the spatial relationships between male and female C. kingii.

Date of Award	Dec 2002
Original language	English
Supervisor	Anthony Griffiths (Supervisor)