Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 1-1-2008 A study on the population size and natural history of the Eastern Six‐lined Racerunner, Aspidoscelis sexlineata, in West Virginia, with notes on other lizard species Emmy Johnson Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/etd Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Emmy, "A study on the population size and natural history of the Eastern Six‐lined Racerunner, Aspidoscelis sexlineata, in West Virginia, with notes on other lizard species" (2008). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. Paper 674. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A study on the population size and natural history of the Eastern Six‐lined Racerunner, Aspidoscelis sexlineata, in West Virginia, with notes on other lizard species. Thesis submitted to the Graduate College of Marshall University Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biology By Emmy Johnson Dr. Thomas Pauley, Ph.D., Committee Chairperson Dr. Dan Evans, Ph.D. Dr. Jeffrey May, Ph.D. Marshall University May 2008 Keywords: Lizard activity patterns, Range expansion, Natural history, Distribution, Behavior ii ABSTRACT A Study on the population size and natural history of the Eastern Six‐lined Racerunner, Aspidoscelis sexlineata, in West Virginia, with notes on other lizard species. By Emmy Johnson Species will expand ranges through natural or human‐alterations. Such an occurrence has happened in West Virginia with Eastern Six‐lined Racerunner, Aspidsocelis sexlineata, a species that has been found to thrive in areas of high disturbance from humans. While found abundantly in other states, they are thought to occur only in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia (Morgan County) where they are believed to have come from Maryland via a railroad bridge. Without the bridge, the Potomac River forms a natural barrier between these two states. The objectives of my study were to determine the population size and natural history of these lizards. My hypotheses were that these lizards came from Maryland and are well established in a small area of West Virginia. Forty three A. sexlineata were captured over the summer of 2007, including 11 recaptures. Aspidoscelis sexlineata were found to have similar seasonal activity patterns as lizards in other climate regions. They were observed to have a short daily activity pattern of 1100h to 1500h. Gravid females were captured during May, June, and July. A population estimate of 70.2 individuals was found for a closed system and 171 individuals were found for an open system. Both of these estimates indicate a healthy population that is self‐reproducing and could occupy this area for a significant period of time. Aspidoscelis sexlineata were found farther down the railroad than previously recorded; this may indicate an expansion of range. Potential competitors of A. sexlineata are Eumeces fasciatus, E. anthracinus, E. laticeps, Scincella lateralis, and Sceloporus undulatus. Surveys were conducted to find populations of these other lizards. Lizards were found in Cabell, Kanawha, Nicholas, Grant, and Morgan Counties. They were not found in Wayne, Fayette, Pocahontas, and Tucker Counties. More studies need to be conducted on the lizards of West Virginia, because little is known about most of these species. iii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank Dr. Pauley for giving me this opportunity to further my education and gain many life experiences along the way. I am glad Dr. Pauley takes time to take his graduate students out in the field with him. It is a very rewarding to have one on one experience. My sister, Erin, has been there for me during my frustration of capturing nothing and making me take a look at what I was doing and how crazy it sounds to most people. She also gave me a place to take shelter and rest when I thought I wasn’t going to be able to make it through the summer. I would also like to thank her for always introducing me to her friends as someone who cuts the toes off of lizards, with no other explanation. I would like to thank Matthew Graham for encouraging me to do this project and also being really good at convincing me to do things I am not prepared to do (like go on a jump when I had only been snowboarding twice before). I would like to thank Conor Keitzer for helping me while out in the field, collecting lizards, enduring the summer heat with very little shade, and withstanding the railroad dirt which is impossible to clean off you. He helped me with forming an idea of how to make my traps and fence moveable. He also helped build some traps which are a long and painful task. I would also like to thank him for reading over my thesis, multiple times, and talking over my ideas with me or rather just listening to me talk about my thesis all the time. Without his help, my thesis would not be what it is. iv Table of Contents Page # Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………ii Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………..iii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………………….v List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….vi Part 1: Study on Aspidoscelis sexlineata Chapter 1: Overview………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………1 Chapter 2: Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..……..4 Chapter 3: Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12 Chapter 4: Results………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………..17 Chapter 5: Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….24 Chapter 6: Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………..34 Part 2: Notes on other lizard species in West Virginia Chapter 7: Overview………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………36 Chapter 8: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..…………………………….39 Chapter 9: Methods…………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………….50 Chapter 10: Results………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….51 Chapter 11: Discussion………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………55 Chapter 12: Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..57 Literature Cited………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………58 v List of Tables Table 1. A. sexlineata searches in the state of West Virginia……………………………………………….……11 Table 2. Locations where lizards were found during surveys for the summer of 2007……….…….52 Table 3. Locations searched during the summer of 2007, where no lizards were seen………..…..53 vi List of Figures Figure 1. Six dorsal stripes against a black background found on A. sexlineata…………….............................7 Figure 2. Female A. sexlineata with a white/cream ventral side…………………………………………………7 Figure 3. Male A. sexlineata with blue tint on ventral side, used for sex identification………........8 Figure 4. Shale barren in Maryland where A. sexlineata were captured…………………………………….8 Figure 5. Railroad in Morgan County where A. sexlineata have been found……………………………….9 Figure 6. Shale barren locations in West Virginia……………..………………………………………………………10 Figure 7. Trapping site along the railroad with drift fences set up……………………………………………15 Figure 8. Side view of funnel trap, placed against drift fence……………………………………………………15 Figure 9. Funnel design…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 Figure 10. Funnel trap design with measurements…………………………….…………………………………….16 Figure 11. Clipping the toe of S. undulatus to give it a specific identification number……………...16 Figure 12. Gravid A. sexlineata…………………………………………………………………………………………………19 Figure 13. The relationship between soil temperature and time of day………………………..…………20 Figure 14. The relationship between soil temperature and month………….………………………………20 Figure 15. The relationship between air temperatures for June and July………………………………….21 Figure 16. The relationship between air temperatures for June and July and time of day…….….21 Figure 17. Average air and soil temperatures for June……………………………………………………………..22 Figure 18. Average air and soil temperatures for July………………………………………………………………22 Figure 19. The relationship between number of A. sexlineata caught and month……….….……….23 Figure 20. The relationship between number of A. sexlineata caught and time of day….………..23 Figure 21. Average July temperatures for the summer of 2007 for the United States…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..31 vii Figure 22. The relationship between soil temperature and number of A. sexlineata captured and time of day…………………………………………………………………………………………….………………31 Figure 23. Google map of the Potomac River and CSX Railroad between Maryland and West Virginia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….32 Figure 24. Heterodon platirhinos caught near trapping area….………………………………...................32 Figure 25. Re‐growth of A. sexlineata tail…………………………………………………………………………………33 Figure 26. Aspidoscelis sexlineata taking refuge in a burrow..………………………………………………….33 Figure 27. Known locations of S. undualatus from the West Virginia Biological Survey…………….43 Figure 28. Sceloporus undulatus with a gray body and keeled scales.……………………………….……..44 Figure 29. Known locations of E. fasciatus from the West Virginia Biological Survey………………..45 Figure 30. Adult E. fasciatus with orange head and olive brown body, caught in trap at the railroad………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..46