Ecological organization of a Chihuahuan desert lizard community

摘要: Niche relationships among 11 diurnal lizard species were studied for 3 years. The community appeared to be subdivided spatially into different subsets of only four six species. Coexisting each subgroup separated further by differential utilization microhabitats. In late spring and early summer, when food shortage is likely, dietary overlaps between syntopic generally low but increased broadly after the rains, became plentiful. Because high similarity in prey-size large medium species, effects prey selection according size slight except very different-sized Overlap three-dimensional resource space was Cnemidophorus scalaris C. tigris, close observation ecology two populations showed many small differences them. We suggest that diversified ecological opportunism allows it coexist with tigris a heterogeneous ecosystem. Several hypotheses are discussed explain determinism partitioning within such community.