Spatial structure analysis of a reptile community with airborne LiDAR data

The analysis of the spatial structure of animal communities requires spatial data to determine the distribution of individuals and their limiting factors. New technologies like very precise GPS as well as satellite imagery and aerial photographs of very high spatial resolution are now available. Data from airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors can provide digital models of ground and vegetation surfaces with pixel sizes of less than 1 m. We present the first study in terrestrial herpetology using LiDAR data. We aim to identify the spatial patterns of a community of four species of lizards (Lacerta schreiberi, Timon lepidus, Podarcis bocagei, and P. hispanica), and to determine how the habitat is influencing the distribution of the species spatially. Leer más.

First recorded wild baby tuatara on mainland New Zealand in at least 200 years

Conservation staff at Wellington’s world-first conservation attraction, Zealandia, have found what is almost certainly the first confirmed baby tuatara to have hatched in the wild on mainland New Zealand in more than 200 years. Leer más.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B. May 22, 2014; 281 (1783)

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Coquí frogs got smaller, squeakier as climate warmed

Male coquí frogs (Eleutherodactylus coqui) along a mountain slope in Puerto Rico have increased the pitch of their “coquí” calls a bit and shortened their chirps compared with frogs at the same altitudes 23 years earlier. Peter Narins and Sebastian Meenderink of UCLA report the finding April 9 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Leer más.

Lagartijas insulares, apasionantes y desconocidas

Especialmente en el mes de abril, la subespecie que habita la Isla del Aire, Podarcis lilfordi lilfordi, se relaciona de una forma asombrosa con una planta que probablemente llegó a la isla hace pocas décadas, la rapa mosquera (Drucunculus muscivorus). Cada año, a partir de estas fechas, el catedrático de Zoología de la Universidad de Salamanca Valentín Pérez Mellado pasa buena parte de su tiempo en la Isla del Aire, un islote situado al Sureste de Menorca en el que estudia desde hace décadas el fascinante comportamiento de una lagartija negra endémica y sobre todo las interacciones que establece con su entorno. Leer más.