Diel activity patterns in the banded gecko, Coleonyx variegatus
Citation
Laurie J Vitt, and Carolee Caffrey, Diel activity patterns in the banded gecko, Coleonyx variegatus: .
Summary
Activity patterns of nocturnal lizards are less well studied than those of diurnal species. Many diurnal species show a bimodal activity distribution in hot weather and a unimodal distribution in cooler weather (e.g., Tinkle, 1967; Pianka, 1973; Huey et al., 1977). Twelve species of nocturnal Australian geckos studied by Pianka and Pianka (1976) were active primarily during the first 3 h following sunset showing a unimodal pattern. Pianka and Pianka (1976) do point out however that their data may be biased due to a heavier sampling effort earlier in the evening. The eublepharine lizard Coleonyx variegatus of the western United States has long been known as a nocturnal species infrequently found to be diurnally active (Brattstrom, 1952; [...]
Summary
Activity patterns of nocturnal lizards are less well studied than those of diurnal species. Many diurnal species show a bimodal activity distribution in hot weather and a unimodal distribution in cooler weather (e.g., Tinkle, 1967; Pianka, 1973; Huey et al., 1977). Twelve species of nocturnal Australian geckos studied by Pianka and Pianka (1976) were active primarily during the first 3 h following sunset showing a unimodal pattern. Pianka and Pianka (1976) do point out however that their data may be biased due to a heavier sampling effort earlier in the evening. The eublepharine lizard Coleonyx variegatus of the western United States has long been known as a nocturnal species infrequently found to be diurnally active (Brattstrom, 1952; Klauber, 1945) during the warm months. Parker (1972), however, suggested that small individuals may be diurnally active beneath insolated stones on warm winter days. A controlled laboratory investigation of activity in C. variegatus revealed much greater activity in darkness than in the light portion of an LD12:12 light cycle (Evans, 1966). Surface activity began at dusk. Within 40 minutes after sunset all geckos emerged from their shelters (Evans, 1967). Activity levels were highest in the hours following sunset and declined steadily until first light. During the first hour of light a burst of activity was recorded, activity which is not apparent in the field and was interpreted as avoidance behavior induced by the sudden onset of full illumination. Thus, activity was unimodally distributed. Similar activity patterns have been shown for a variety of nocturnal gekkonids in a variety of localities (Huey, 1979; Pianka and Huey
Published in Journal of Herpetology, volume 19, issue 2, on pages 308 - 311, in 1985.