Thermal Ecology, Activity Patterns, and Microhabitat Use by Two Sympatric Whiptail Lizards (Cnemidophorus abaetensis and Cnemidophorus ocellifer) from Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Cnemidophorus abaetensis and Cnemidophorus ocellifer occur in sympatry in Bahia State, Brazil. We evaluated the extent to which these species differed in their activity, active body temperature, and in their relationship with the thermal environment. During March to May of 2000, mean body temperature during activity of C. abaetensis was 36.7 ± 1.7°C (± SD), while that of C. ocellifer was 36.5 ± 1.8°C. The activity cycle of the two species was different, although activity peaked for both species in the morning. This may be because of structural differences in the vegetation of the microhabitats used by the two species. Cnemidophorus abaetensis used more shaded environments than C. ocellifer, and this difference in exposure may have allowed longer activity. Segregation in spatial resource use between these two Cnemidophorus may facilitate coexistence of such closely related species.