Challenges Facing Today's Lizard Ecologists1
Wild animals and natural habitats are rapidly being lost because of overpopulation and global climate change. Here I recount some of my own charmed life, including adventures and experiences, and I present some preliminary new data on gender differences in 80 lizard species from 14 different families. In most of these species of desert lizards, females are larger than males but males have relatively larger heads than females. Today's lizard ecologists face impediments and a difficult future in which species and habitats are in short supply. I plan to provide access to my own data as a legacy for frustrated future lizard ecologists. These data are described here and online at A Desert Lizard Data Book for the 21st Century (http://www.zo.utexas.edu/faculty/pianka/Proposal.html).Abstract
Histograms of snout–vent lengths of male and female Thorny Devils.
In most species of desert lizards, females are larger than males. The line in this figure represents the one-to-one line of equal size.
Mean head size as a proportion of snout–vent length of females vs. males plotted for 80 species representing 14 lizard families. The line in the figure represents the one-to-one line of equal size.
Head lengths of male (black squares) and female (gray diamonds) Kalahari arboreal skinks Trachylepis striata.
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