Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1139/Z08-143 |
Spatial and seasonal dietary patterns of the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos): harvester ant specialist or generalist ant feeder? | |
Newbold, T. A. Scott; MacMahon, James A. | |
通讯作者 | Newbold, T. A. Scott |
来源期刊 | CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE ZOOLOGIE |
ISSN | 0008-4301 |
出版年 | 2009 |
卷号 | 87期号:2页码:112-123 |
英文摘要 | A suite of factors including prey availability and prey defenses influence prey selection by consumers and ultimately define an animal’s feeding strategy (e.g., generalist or specialist). Here we examined the relationship between availability and selection of ants by the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos Girard, 1852) to test the hypothesis that P. platyrhinos are specialist predators on harvester ants, and to investigate which factors influence the prey preference of lizards. Variation in ant availability and lizard diets was assessed using 83 plots established along a Great Basin shrub-steppe bajada in northwestern Utah, USA. Across the study site, 14 of 20 ant species were represented in the lizard diet. However, 70% of that diet consisted of just two species. In contrast to previous studies, P. platyrhinos did not show a disproportionate preference for harvester ants. Instead, larger ants of any species (including harvester ants) were preferentially selected over medium-sized and smaller ants. These findings suggest that desert horned lizards demonstrate an opportunistic feeding strategy in which lizards select ants based on their body size and abundance. More generally, these results emphasize the importance of assessing predator response across naturally varying gradients in prey availability to evaluate feeding specialization. |
类型 | Article |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | USA |
收录类别 | SCI-E |
WOS记录号 | WOS:000263641800002 |
WOS关键词 | ECOLOGY ; PREY ; AVAILABILITY ; LACERTILIA ; PREFERENCE ; IGUANIDAE ; PREDATORS ; AUSTRALIA ; EVOLUTION ; BEHAVIOR |
WOS类目 | Zoology |
WOS研究方向 | Zoology |
来源机构 | Colorado State University |
资源类型 | 期刊论文 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/160111 |
作者单位 | (1)Utah State Univ, Dept Biol, Logan, UT 84322 USA;(2)Utah State Univ, Ctr Ecol, Logan, UT 84322 USA |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Newbold, T. A. Scott,MacMahon, James A.. Spatial and seasonal dietary patterns of the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos): harvester ant specialist or generalist ant feeder?[J]. Colorado State University,2009,87(2):112-123. |
APA | Newbold, T. A. Scott,&MacMahon, James A..(2009).Spatial and seasonal dietary patterns of the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos): harvester ant specialist or generalist ant feeder?.CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE ZOOLOGIE,87(2),112-123. |
MLA | Newbold, T. A. Scott,et al."Spatial and seasonal dietary patterns of the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos): harvester ant specialist or generalist ant feeder?".CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE ZOOLOGIE 87.2(2009):112-123. |
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