We studied growth and demography in a population of Xenosaurus newmanorum a lizard that lives in rock crevices in the tropical cloud forests of México. Growth rates varied with season (faster in the wet season) and year (faster in 1995 and 1997, slower in 1996 and 1999). Males and females did not differ in growth rate. Proportion of reproductive females varied from year to year, with 1996 having the lowest proportion of reproductive females (32.5%) compared to the other years (all >75%). The age/size structure changed slightly among years, but did not differ between the wet and dry seasons. On average, the sex ratio was female-biased; however, the proportion of males in the population was greater in the dry season than in the wet season. Our results suggest that, like other lizards, growth and demographic characteristics of this population fluctuate with the proximate environment on both a seasonal and annual timescale.
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1 June 2003
Variation in Growth and Demography of a Knob-scaled Lizard (Xenosaurus newmanorum: Xenosauridae) from a Seasonal Tropical Environment in México
Julio A. Lemos-Espinal,
Geoffrey R. Smith,
Royce E. Ballinger
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BIOTROPICA
Vol. 35 • No. 2
June 2003
Vol. 35 • No. 2
June 2003
demography
growth
life history variation
México
reproduction
tropical cloud forest
Xenosaurus newmanorum