Homing behavior of a tree lizard: influences of mating resource and habitat structure

Yu- De Zhang, Chun-Chia Chou, Chen-Pan Liao, Jhan-Wei Lin, Rulon W Clark, Jung-Ya Hsu and Wen-San Huang

Behavioral Ecology, 2024, vol. 35, issue 6, 151-178

Abstract: Homing behavior, characterized by repeated navigation to specific spatial areas, is shaped by individual condition and numerous environmental factors varying at both individual and population levels. Homing behavior is often measured by quantifying site fidelity and homing success. Site fidelity reflects an individual’s inclination to stay or reuse its previously occupied location, while homing success assesses the likelihood of an individual returning to its original location after an involuntary translocation. Exploring the effects of ecological and environmental factors on homing behavior across populations offers valuable insights into its adaptability to diverse and changing environments. Here, we conducted a translocation experiment involving 8 populations of Swinhoe’s tree lizard (Diploderma swinhonis). We examined the effects of resource availability (mate and food), morphological traits, habitat structure, and population density on both site fidelity and homing success. Our results revealed significant variations in both site fidelity and homing success, both within and between populations. Males exhibited higher site fidelity when they had high numbers of female neighbors and low levels of heterogeneity of male neighbors. Regarding homing success, males returned to their territories more rapidly when their territories provided abundant mating opportunities and low levels of intrasexual competition. Additionally, habitat structure influenced homing success, with males showing higher success rates in populations characterized by smaller trees, or when they occupied smaller territory trees. Overall, our findings emphasize the necessity of making comparisons within and between populations to better understand the evolutionary and ecological forces shaping animal navigation.

Keywords: cross-population variation; homing success; site fidelity; the Swinhoe’s tree lizard (Diploderma swinhonis) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/arae081 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:beheco:v:35:y:2024:i:6:p:151-178.

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Behavioral Ecology is currently edited by Louise Barrett

More articles in Behavioral Ecology from International Society for Behavioral Ecology Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().