Empirical Evidence of Non-Correlation between Tail Loss Frequency and Predation Intensity on Lizards

We examined the widespread assumption that tail loss frequency in lizards is positively correlated with predation intensity. Empirical data from a California locality show that no correlation exists. We suggest that tail loss frequencies are more likely to reflect the inefficiency of predators rather than the intensity of predation. Previous conclusions based on tail loss data regarding the effect of predators on behavioral, population, and community phenomena in lizards are consequently suspect.

• Publication year

  1984

• Venue

  Oikos

• Publication date

  1984-03-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.2307/3544414
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

  2022cited by this paper
• Lizard Ecology: Studies of a Model Organism

  1983cited by this paper
• Physiological Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach to Resource Use

  1983cited by this paper
• The ecology and systematics of the amphisbaenian genus Bipes

  1982cited by this paper
• Resource acquisition and allocation among animals.

  1981cited by this paper
• Ecological Consequences of Foraging Mode

  1981cited by this paper
• Correlates of Tail Losses in Twelve Species of Liolaemus Lizards

  1980cited by this paper
• Ecological and Demographic Correlates of Injury Rates in Some Bahamian Anolis Lizards

  1980cited by this paper
• Evolution of Escape Behavior Diversity

  1980cited by this paper
• Inferring the Properties of Predation and Other Injury‐Producing Agents from Injury Frequencies

  1979cited by this paper
• Variation in the reproductive parameters of three neotropical snakes, Coniophanes fissidens, Dipsas catesbyi, and Imantodes cenchoa

  1979cited by this paper
• Relative Predation Pressure on Salamanders (Caudata: Plethodontidae) Along an Altitudinal Transect in Guatemala

  1978cited by this paper
• Comparative Ecology, Resource Utilization and Niche Segregation among Gekkonid Lizards in the Southern Kalahari

  1978cited by this paper
• Adaptive Strategies and Energetics of Tail Autonomy in Lizards

  1977cited by this paper
• Comparative Ecology of Twelve Species of Nocturnal Lizards (Gekkonidae) in the Western Australian Desert

  1976cited by this paper
• COMPARATIVE DATA ON THE POPULATION ECOLOGY OF THE DESERT SPINY LIZARD, SCELOPORUS MAGISTER

  1976cited by this paper
• Behavior and ecology of the American kestrel (Falco sparverius L.) in the Sierra Nevada of California

  1976cited by this paper
• Comparative Ecology of Populations of the Lizard Uta stansburiana

  1975cited by this paper
• Life History Phenomena in Two Populations of the Lizard Sceloporus undulatus in Southwestern New Mexico

  1975cited by this paper
• Geckos: Adaptive Significance and Energetics of Tail Autotomy

  1974cited by this paper
• Territorial Aggressive Encounters and Tail Breaks in the Lizard Sceloporus magister

  1974cited by this paper
• Sceloporus Undulatus: A Study of the Intraspecific Comparative Demography of a Lizard

  1972cited by this paper
• Comparative Autecology of the Lizard Cnemidophorus Tigris in Different Parts of Its Georgraphic Range

  1970cited by this paper
• The life and demography of the side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana.

  1968cited by this paper
• On Lizard Species Diversity: North American Flatland Deserts

  1967cited by this paper
• Lizard Caudal Vertebrae

  1967cited by this paper
• Gekkonid Lizards: Average Ages Derived from Tail-Loss Data

  1966cited by this paper
• The Life of the Rainbow Lizard

  1964cited by this paper
• STATISTICAL METHODS

  1962cited by this paper
• The rusty lizard : a population study

  1960cited by this paper
• Variation and Predator Pressure in an Island and a Mainland Population of Lizards

  1954cited by this paper
• The Ecology of the Desert Iguana Dipsosaurus Dorsalis

  1953cited by this paper
• Study of Snake Populations in Central California

  1949cited by this paper
• A Study of Coyote Relationships on Cattle Range

  1948cited by this paper
• Predation by Owls in the Sierran Foothills of California

  1947cited by this paper
• Feeding Habits of the Pacific Rattlesnake

  1946cited by this paper
• Behavior and Food Habits of the Red-Tailed Hawk

  1946cited by this paper
• Interrelations of Rodents and other wildlife of the range.

  1942cited by this paper

• What difference does a tail make? Effect of caudal autotomy on physiological and ecological traits of Sceloporus mucronatus (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae)

  2025cites this paper
• Is the blue-spotted phenotype more widespread in the eastern slow worm Anguis colchica (Nordmann, 1840) than the western slow worm Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758 and does it correlate with the male body size? A case study from Central Europe

  2023cites this paper
• Caudal autotomy among populations of the lizard Sceloporus variabilis (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) in contrasting environments

  2023cites this paper
• Unwrapping broken tails: Biological and environmental correlates of predation pressure in limbless reptiles.

  2022cites this paper
• Examining the impacts of pinnipeds on Atlantic salmon: The effects of river restoration on predator–prey interactions

  2022cites this paper
• A new tale of lost tails: Correlates of tail breakage in the worm lizard Amphisbaena vermicularis

  2020cites this paper
• Why rare Prey Matter

  2019influential citation
• The Invasion Ecology of Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis Muralis): Population Dynamics, Interactions and Adaptations

  2019cites this paper
• 6. SODIUM AND POTASSIUM SECRETION BY IGUANA SALT GLANDS:

  2019cites this paper
• THE BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

  2017cites this paper
• An investigation into declining skink populations and their behavioural responses to introduced mammalian predators

  2015cites this paper
• Geographic variation in lizard hind-limb morphology in relation to predation: no evidence for an evolutionary basis

  2015cites this paper
• Avian Predation and the Evolution of Life Histories in the Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans

  2013cites this paper
• Geographic Variation of Movement and Display Behavior of Side-blotched Lizards (Uta stansburiana) Related to Predation Environment

  2013cites this paper
• Cost of autotomy drives ontogenetic switching of anti-predator mechanisms under developmental constraints in a land snail

  2012cites this paper
• Patterns of sexual dimorphism in Mexican alligator lizards, Barisia imbricata

  2012cites this paper
• Terrestrial herpetofaunal assemblages in secondary forests and exotic Lophostemon confertus plantations in South China.

  2012cites this paper
• Consecuencias ecológicas de la pérdida de la cola en la lagartija serrana (Lacerta monticola)

  2012cites this paper
• The life history and ecology of the Pink-tailed Worm-lizard Aprasia parapulchella Kluge a review

  2011cites this paper
• Tail loss incidence in the Chihuahuan fringe toed-lizard Uma paraphygas (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae)

  2011cites this paper
• REPTILIA: SQUAMATA: SAURIA: PHRYNOSOMATIDAE

  2011cites this paper
• DOS NUEVOS CASOS DE AUTOTOMÍA CAUDAL EN ROEDORES SURAMERICANOS

  2009cites this paper
• The mystery of the missing toes: extreme levels of natural mutilation in island lizard populations

  2009cites this paper
• Predation pressure, density-induced stress and tail regeneration: a casual-nexus situation or a bunch of independent factors?

  2009cites this paper
• Injuries to lizards: conservation implications for the endangered pygmy bluetongue lizard (Tiliqua adelaidensis)

  2008cites this paper
• Differences in morphology, performance and behaviour between recently diverged populations of Podarcis sicula mirror differences in predation pressure

  2007cites this paper
• Alsophis portoricensis anegadae (Squamata: Colubridae): Morphometric Characteristics, Activity Patterns, and Habitat Use

  2007cites this paper
• Population profile of an introduced species, the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), on Vancouver Island, Canada

  2006cites this paper
• Tail autotomy in the common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius): Some ecological aspects

  2006cites this paper
• CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE WORST KIND : PATTERNS OF INJURY IN A POPULATION OF GRASS SNAKES ( NATRIX NATRIX ) P

  2005cites this paper
• Geographic variation in the frequency of scarring and tail stubs in eastern gartersnakes (Thamnophis s. sirtalis) from Michigan, USA

  2005cites this paper
• Analysis of a herpetofaunal community from an altered marshy area in Sicily; with special remarks on habitat use (niche breadth and overlap), relative abundance of lizards and snakes, and the correlation between predator abundance and tail loss in lizards

  2005cites this paper
• Bergmann’s Clines in Ectotherms: Illustrating a Life‐History Perspective with Sceloporine Lizards

  2004influential citation
• MODULATED BUT CONSERVED SEGMENTAL GROWTH OF THE ORIGINAL TAIL IN CALLISAURUS DRACONOIDES (PHRYNOSOMATIDAE) AND CALOTES VERSICOLOR (AGAMIDAE)

  2004cites this paper
• Inter‐populational variation in the cost of autotomy in the metallic skink (Niveoscincus metallicus)

  2004cites this paper
• Avoiding injury and surviving injury: two coexisting evolutionary strategies in lizards

  2003cites this paper
• Polymorphic Clay Models of Thamnophis Sirtalis Suggest Patterns of Avian Predation

  2003cites this paper
• Influence of predation pressure on the escape behaviour of Podarcis muralis lizards.

  2003cites this paper
• Tail growth in Chamaeleo dilepis (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae): functional implications of segmental patterns

  2003cites this paper
• More injuries in left‐footed individual lizards and Sphenodon

  2003cites this paper
• Trade-offs in phenotypic traits: endurance at birth, growth, survival, predation and susceptibility to parasitism in a lizard, Lacerta vivipara.

  2000cites this paper
• 'Costs' of caudal autotomy in the metallic skink, Niveoscincus metallicus

  2000cites this paper
• Ecological and histological aspects of tail loss in spiny mice (Rodentia: Muridae, Acomys) with a review of its occurrence in rodents

  1999cites this paper
• PREDATORS OF THE COMMON LIZARD (ZOOTOCA VIVIPARA) IN A HABITAT OF FOREST GLADE IN SW POLAND

  1999cites this paper
• Cannibalistic propensities in the lizard Podarcis hispanica atrata

  1996cites this paper
• Patterns of caudal‐autotomy evolution in lizards

  1996cites this paper
• DEFENSIVE TACTICS IN LIZARDS AND SNAKES: THE POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE NEOTROPICAL FAUNA

  1996cites this paper
• Opposing fitness consequences of colour pattern in male and female snakes

  1995cites this paper
• Predation on Water Snakes: Ontogenetic and Interspecific Considerations

  1993cites this paper
• The m. caudifemoralis longus and its relationship to caudal autotomy and locomotion in lizards (Reptilia: Sauna)

  1992cites this paper
• Observations on the natural history, present status, and conservation of the insular lizard Podarcis hispanica atrata on the Columbretes archipelago, Spain

  1991cites this paper
• Burrow Site Selection by Black Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) at Palo Verde, Costa Rica

  1991cites this paper
• Risk discrimination of direct versus tangential approach by basking black iguanas (Ctenosaura similis): Variation as a function of human exposure.

  1990cites this paper
• Experimental evidence that high population frequencies of lizard tail autotomy indicate inefficient predation

  1988cites this paper
• Polymorphic populations of the garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis near Lake Eric

  1988cites this paper
• Predator/prey relationships among terrestrial vertebrates: an exhaustive review of studies conducted in southern South America Relaciones depredador-presa entre vertebrados terrestres: una revision exhaustiva de estudios realizados en el cono sur sudamericano

  1987cites this paper
• COLOR PATTERN POLYMORPHISM IN THE LAKE ERIE WATER SNAKE, NERODIA SIPEDON INSULARUM

  1987cites this paper
• The process of total tail autotomy in the South-American rodent, Proechimys

  1987cites this paper
• Population Ecology of the Lake Erie Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon insularum

  1986cites this paper
• Predation Intensity, Prey Survival and Injury Frequency in an Amphibian Predator-prey Interaction

  1985cites this paper