Abundance, diet and prey selection of arboreal lizards in a grazed tropical woodland

Published source details Nordberg E.J., Murray P., Alford R. & Schwarzkopf L. (2018) Abundance, diet and prey selection of arboreal lizards in a grazed tropical woodland. Austral Ecology, 43, 328-338.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Modify grazing regime: Forest, open woodland & savanna Action Link

Modify grazing regime: Forest, open woodland & savanna

A replicated, site comparison study in 2015 in eucalyptus woodland in Queensland, Australia (Nordberg et al. 2018) found that decreasing cattle grazing intensity decreased dubious four-clawed geckos Gehyra dubia abundance but did not change inland snake-eyed skink Cryptoblepharus australis abundance. Four-clawed gecko abundance was generally lower at lower grazing intensity compared to higher grazing intensity (moderate stocking: 5 geckos/plot; rotational stocking regime: 6 geckos/plot; variable stocking: 12 geckos/plot; heavy stocking: 10 geckos/plot). Inland snake-eyed skink abundance was similar at all grazing intensities (moderate stocking: 3 lizards/plot; rotational stocking: 4 lizards/plot; variable stocking: 5 lizards/plot; heavy stocking regime: 5 lizards/plot;). Data was collected in eight 100 ha paddocks each with one of four grazing regimes (two replicates of each). The grazing regimes increased in intensity from moderate to rotational to variable to heavy stocking rates (see original paper for details). Each paddock contained three sampling sites. Lizards were monitored during seven days in February 2015 using arboreal coverboards and spotlighting. Faecal samples were collected from lizards captured by hand.