Arid
DOI10.1111/aec.12152
At home with the birds: Kalahari tree skinks associate with sociable weaver nests despite African pygmy falcon presence
Rymer, Tasmin L.1,3; Thomson, Robert L.2,4; Whiting, Martin J.1,5
通讯作者Rymer, Tasmin L.
来源期刊AUSTRAL ECOLOGY
ISSN1442-9985
EISSN1442-9993
出版年2014
卷号39期号:7页码:839-847
英文摘要

The way in which animals use habitat can affect their access to key resources or how they are buffered from environmental variables such as the extreme temperatures of deserts. One strategy of animals is to modify the environment or take advantage of structures constructed by other species. The sociable weaver bird (Philetairus socius) constructs enormous colonial nests in trees. These nests are frequented by Kalahari tree skinks (Trachylepis spilogaster) and the two species coexist over a large portion of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. We tested whether skinks were more abundant in trees containing sociable weaver nests and asked whether the physical features of trees were important predictors of skink abundance. We then focused on potential costs of this association by examining the relationship between skink abundance and the presence of a potential predator, the pygmy falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus), which exclusively uses weaver nest colonies for roosting and nesting. Finally, we simulated a predatory threat to determine if skinks assess risk differently if a weaver nest is present. We found a significant positive association between the presence of weaver nests and skink abundance. In the absence of nests, the type of tree did not influence skink abundance. Skinks used weaver nests and were more likely to perch on the nest than the tree. When threatened with predation, skinks preferred to take refuge in nests. Surprisingly, the presence of nesting pygmy falcons in nests did not influence skink abundance, perhaps because of the abundance of nearby refuges within nests, tree crevices, or in debris at the tree base. We suggest that sociable weaver nests provide multiple benefits to skinks including lowered predation risk, thermal refuges and greater prey availability, although this requires experimental testing. In the current era of global climate change, sociable weaver nests may become a crucial resource for skinks seeking refuge as the Kalahari climate warms.


英文关键词arid environments ecosystem engineer flight initiation distance interspecies associations predation risk
类型Article
语种英语
国家South Africa ; Australia ; Finland
收录类别SCI-E
WOS记录号WOS:000343800300020
WOS关键词PHILETAIRUS-SOCIUS ; THERMAL SIGNIFICANCE ; PREDATION RISK ; HABITAT USE ; LIZARDS ; BEHAVIOR ; CONSEQUENCES ; FACILITATION ; PICKING
WOS类目Ecology
WOS研究方向Environmental Sciences & Ecology
资源类型期刊论文
条目标识符http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/180994
作者单位1.Univ Witwatersrand, Sch Anim Plant & Environm Sci, Johannesburg, South Africa;
2.Univ Pretoria, Dept Zool & Entomol, ZA-0002 Pretoria, South Africa;
3.James Cook Univ, Sch Marine & Trop Biol, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia;
4.Univ Turku, Dept Biol, Sect Ecol, SF-20500 Turku, Finland;
5.Macquarie Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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GB/T 7714
Rymer, Tasmin L.,Thomson, Robert L.,Whiting, Martin J.. At home with the birds: Kalahari tree skinks associate with sociable weaver nests despite African pygmy falcon presence[J],2014,39(7):839-847.
APA Rymer, Tasmin L.,Thomson, Robert L.,&Whiting, Martin J..(2014).At home with the birds: Kalahari tree skinks associate with sociable weaver nests despite African pygmy falcon presence.AUSTRAL ECOLOGY,39(7),839-847.
MLA Rymer, Tasmin L.,et al."At home with the birds: Kalahari tree skinks associate with sociable weaver nests despite African pygmy falcon presence".AUSTRAL ECOLOGY 39.7(2014):839-847.
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