This data set contains information on the Lizard Assemblages in Karawatha Peri-Urban site, South East Queensland.
Site details, sampling methods and total number of individual animals is listed for each plot location.
Credit
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Lineage
Lizard assemblage for 33 one-hectare plots at Karawatha Forest, determined from pitfall trapping and visual encounter surveys. The plots are at 500 m intervals in a grid that covers the entire Park. Each plot follows the elevational contour and is 250 m long x 40 m wide. Three repeat surveys were completed during the period September 2007 to February 2008.
The two survey methods are:
The two survey methods are:
- Pitfall trapping: The standard pitfall trap design consisted of a single white 20 L plastic bucket, buried flush with the ground and aligned centrally along a 10 m section of 300 mm high drift fence. However, this design was not always possible and had to be modified due to obstructions at some plots. The drift fence was made of polyethylene dampcourse, which was buried approximately 2 cm into the ground and secured in place with wooden stakes every 2 m. After the first sampling period, the wooden stakes were replaced with galvanised metal rods, 5 mm thick. Buckets were 30 cm in diameter and 40 cm deep. Four small holes were punctured in the bottom of each trap to allow for drainage and a small square of polystyrene foam was placed in the bottom of the trap in case it filled with water. A layer of leaf litter was also placed in the bottom of the trap to provide protection from predators and overheating. Limited time and volunteer availability meant that this study had to be simplified to one trap per site, which given the lack of data on this topic, is justified. Where possible, the pitfall trap was located 125 m along and 5 m off to the left-hand side of the plot midline. Traps were open for three consecutive nights, which corresponds to the highest capture success experienced by Moseby and Read (2001). Traps were checked every morning, as this has been demonstrated to be one of the more effective ways to reduce capture-related mortalities (Longmore & Lee, 1981; Hobbs & James, 1999). Traps were open for a total of 297 trap nights over the three survey periods: 10 th September 2007 - 5th October 2007, 5th November 2007 - 30th November 2007, 6th January 2008 - 1st February 2008. Species were identified using “A Field Guide to Reptiles of Queensland” (Wilson 2005).
- Transect surveys: Visual surveys were conducted with fifteen minute surveys along a 250 m transect located 5 m to the left-hand side and parallel to the plot-midline. A single observer conducted all surveys to eliminate observer bias. The aim was to conduct surveys between the hours of 9 AM and 11 AM however it was sometimes difficult to get around all of the plots in this time. While most of the surveys were conducted between 9am and 11am, some were conducted outside this time, but never started before 8 AM and never finished after 12.15 PM. This method targets active heliothermic lizards (Brown & Nicholls, 1993) so only individuals passively observed were recorded i.e., there was no peeling of bark, rolling logs, etc. When an individual was observed, the substrate it was first seen on before escape behaviours were initiated was recorded. Cloud cover and temperature were recorded before each survey was conducted. Plots were surveyed once per sampling period: 10th September 2007 - 5th October 2007, 5th November 2007 - 30th November 2007, 6th January 2008 - 1st February 2008. Thus, each plot was surveyed three times in total. Species were identified using “A Field Guide to Reptiles of Queensland” (Wilson 2005).
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