Ecology of the Skink, Mabuya arajara Rebouças-Spieker, 1981, in the Araripe Plateau, Northeastern Brazil
We studied diet, reproduction, and sexual dimorphism in Mabuya arajara (Arajara Skink; Scincidae) in a rainforest on the slopes of the Araripe Plateau, northeastern Brazil. Diet was composed mainly of arthropods, mostly termites, when considering both number (93.5%, n = 58) and volume (58.5%, n = 58). Mabuya arajara can be classified as a forager that uses intermediate foraging techniques, as do most of its congeners. Brood size of M. arajara ranged from two to nine neonates (4.8 ± 1.7), and larger females tended to produce larger broods. The period of parturition occurs between October and December. Adult females of M. arajara were larger and heavier than adult males. There was no significant difference between the body size of males and females, but there was a significant difference in body shape between sexes. The positive relationship between brood size and female size can be considered an important correlate of the sexual selection of bigger females in Mabuya and other South American lizards in general.Abstract
Distribution of male and female body sizes (mm) of M. arajara studied on the slopes of the Araripe Plateau, Ceará, northeastern Brazil. Arrows indicate the smallest reproductive individual.
Frequency of reproductive stages of sexually mature females of M. arajara studied on the slopes of the Araripe Plateau, Ceará, northeastern Brazil.
Relationship between the number of embryos and body size (SVL, mm) of sexually mature females of M. arajara studied on the slopes of the Araripe Plateau, Ceará, northeastern Brazil (r2 = 0.50, P < 0.001, n = 45).
Monthly distribution of the average values of the embryos (above left; expressed by average values of the two largest eggs or embryos in each female) and volume (mm3) of testicles (above right; expressed by the values of the largest testicle of each lizard) (all log10-transformed), and mass of fat bodies (FB; g) in both sexes (below) of the lizard M. arajara on the slopes of the Araripe Plateau, Ceará, northeastern Brazil.
Phylogeny of Mabuya lizards (modified from Pyron et al., 2013) showing the mapping of ecological characteristics. Abbreviations: Te = termite, He = Hemiptera, Ar = Aranae, Or = Orthoptera, Co = Coleoptera, Bl = Blattaria, Di = Diptera, Ho = Homoptera, Fo = Formicidae. Reference: Andersson (1918) = 1; Dunn (1936) = 2; Vanzolini and Rebouças-Spieker (1976) = 3; Vitt and Blackburn (1983) = 4; Rebouças-Spieker and Vanzolini (1990) = 5; Vitt (1991) = 6; Vitt and Blackburn (1991) = 7; Stevaux (1993) = 8; Ávila-Pires (1995) = 9; Vitt (1995) = 10; Vrcibradic and Rocha (1998a,b) = 11; Rocha and Vrcibradic (1999) = 12; Rodrigues (2000) = 13; Mesquita et al., 2000 = 14; Teixeira et al. (2003) = 15; Pinto and Ávila-Pires (2004) = 16; Rocha et al. (2004) = 17; Vrcibradic et al. (2004) = 18; Vrcibradic and Rocha (2005) = 19; Mesquita et al. (2006) = 20; Vrcibradic and Rocha (2011) = 21.
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