Escape behavior of Side-blotched Lizards (Utastansburiana) in response to model predators

Abstract

Few field studies have tested for geographic variation in escape behavior and even fewer have examined responses of prey to multiple predators despite most prey occurring in multipredator environments. We performed 458 escape trials on Side-blotched Lizards (Uta stansburiana Baird and Girard, 1852) from 10 populations that differed in predator abundances. We quantified escape behavior of Side-blotched Lizards when approached with one of two model predators: a lizard (Great Basin Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores N.M. Smith and Tanner, 1972)) or a snake (Western Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber mormon Baird and Girard, 1852)). Our results suggest that the escape responses of Side-blotched Lizards (flight initiation distance, distance fled, refuge entry) do not differ when approached by either a model predatory lizard or a model predatory snake. Nor do the escape responses of individual Side-blotched Lizards differ in relation to the abundances of predatory lizards or snakes in the local environment. Rather, only the directness of fleeing toward a refuge differed based on model predator type with Side-blotched Lizards fleeing more directly toward a refuge in response to a model lizard. These findings suggest that Side-blotched Lizards tend to use a more generalized escape response to approaching predators.