The effects of selective logging on the lizards Kentropyx calcarata, Ameiva ameiva and Mabuya nigropunctata

Abstract

We evaluated the effect of experimental logging of two different ages, and the effect of tree girdling without selective logging, on the local abundance of three heliothermic lizards. The response to intensity of selective logging varied among species of lizards. The local abundance of M. nigropunctata increased with the intensity of logging damage, while the relationships for K. calcarata and A. ameiva were not statistically significant. The three species used plots cut four years before more frequently than control plots, but the density of A. ameiva in gaps in blocks cut 9-10 years before was similar to than in undisturbed vegetation. The girdling treatments had a significant negative effect on K. calcarata, but not M. nigropunctata or A. ameiva. We suggest that differences in numbers of lizards reflect a behavioral choice for microhabitats created in the logging areas, because the spatial scale of this study was too small to confidently detect the effects of the silvicuture treatments on populations of the species.