P. Doughty et B. Sinervo, THE EFFECTS OF HABITAT, TIME OF HATCHING, AND BODY-SIZE ON THE DISPERSAL OF HATCHLING UTA STANSBURIANA, Journal of herpetology, 28(4), 1994, pp. 485-490
Hatchling dispersal was measured from 1989-1991 in two populations of
the side-blotched lizard, Ufa stansburiana, in central California. Hat
chlings from eggs incubated in the laboratory were released on site an
d were recaptured throughout the summer and the following spring. Medi
an dispersal was approximately five times greater at Los Banos than at
Del Puerto Canyon, and was likely due to different spatial distributi
ons of microhabitats. Body size did not affect dispersal distance at e
ither site despite an experimental increase in the range of hatchling
body sizes. At Del Puerto Canyon in the summer, dispersal distances we
re greater in males than in females, but were not affected by the time
of hatching. At Los Banos in the summer, dispersal distances were gre
ater in males and late season hatchlings. Most trends were not signifi
cant in the spring at either site. Overall, there were large overlaps
in dispersal distributions for all factors studied indicating a large
stochastic component to lizard dispersal.