Meeting Abstract
Both predation and habitat type have been shown to influence divergences in behavior and morphology. Habitat fragmentation can divide source populations into inferior habitats with increased predation, forming sink populations. Understanding the relationship between habitat fragmentation and predation intensity is a vital step in designing successful conservation outlines. The Ocala National forest (ONF) is a highly fragmented landscape among cut stands of sand pine scrub (SPS) and stands of long leaf pine (LLP) throughout the forest. Small terrestrial endemics such as the Florida scrub lizard (Sceloporus woodi) are at particular peril of habitat fragmentation due to their limited vagility. LLP and SPS habitats differ remarkably in vegetation, openness of habitat, and substratum. Predation can be difficult to measure in the field, confining most studies to the laboratory. Alternatives to laboratory studies include premeditated placement of camera traps, clay models, and tethered animals. We quantified relative predation intensity on the Florida scrub lizard between LLP and SPS by using both clay models and camera traps from June to August 2015. This study elucidates the relationship between habitat complexity and relative predation intensity. Models placed in SPS received more attacks than those placed in LLP. In accordance with the lack of abundance of scrub lizards in SPS, this data may infer a source-sink response to habitat fragmentation. The data also serves to identify the presence and relative abundances of potential scrub lizard predators by habitat type within the ONF.
