Ecology and Conservation of the Imperiled Dunes Sagebrush Lizard: An Ecological Specialist in a Threatened Ecosystem

Abstract

The Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) is endemic to the Mescalero-Monahans Sandhills, in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. It only lives in dunes with bowl-shaped depressions (blowouts) that are semi-stabilized by shinnery oak (Quercus havardii). Meticulous studies reveal population dynamics in these lizards scale from local neighborhoods of individuals up to the geographic distribution. The condition and configuration of the irreplaceable landforms it inhabits are directly linked to population vital rates and persistence of populations. The Mescalero-Monahans Sandhills overlies the Permian Basin, a region beset with increasing and extensive fragmentation from oil and gas development and sand mining for fracking. Fragmentation disrupts both the geomorphologic processes that maintain dunes and the dispersal dynamics that connect lizard neighborhoods. Effective conservation of shinnery oak dunes is a persistent challenge. Conservation agreements facilitate monitoring, land stewardship, and research. However, conservation agreements do not match dynamics of ecological scaling in this system and may not confront the problem of fragmentation that drives disappearance of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard. The same recommendation has been made since 1997, with increasing precision- there is a clear need to protect extensive and relatively undisturbed areas of shinnery oak dunes that are home to this highly specialized species.