Activity of tjakura (great desert skinks) at burrows in relation to plant cover and predators

Increased predation where ground cover is reduced after severe wildfire is increasingly implicated as a factor causing decline of vulnerable prey populations. In arid central Australia, one species detrimentally affected by repeated wildfire is the great desert skink or tjakura (Liopholis kintorei),...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology and evolution 2023-08, Vol.13 (8), p.e10391-n/a
Main Authors: Ridley, Jenna C. H., Schlesinger, Christine A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
activity
Applied Ecology
Arid zones
Aridity
Behavioural Ecology
burrow
Burrows
camera trapping
Conservation Ecology
desert
Deserts
Food availability
Ground cover
Habitat changes
Invertebrates
Liopholis kintorei
National parks
Native peoples
Photography
Predation
predator
Predator-prey interactions
Predators
Prey
Trophic Interactions
Vegetation
Vegetation cover
Wildfires
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Summary:Increased predation where ground cover is reduced after severe wildfire is increasingly implicated as a factor causing decline of vulnerable prey populations. In arid central Australia, one species detrimentally affected by repeated wildfire is the great desert skink or tjakura (Liopholis kintorei), a distinctive lizard of the central Australian arid zone that constructs and inhabits multi‐entranced communal burrows. We aimed to test whether tjakura or predator activity at burrow entrances varied with cover and how tjakura respond to predator presence. Using time‐lapse photography, we monitored tjakura and predator activity at the largest entrance of 12 burrows ranging from high (>70%) to low (
ISSN:2045-7758
2045-7758
DOI:10.1002/ece3.10391