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Diversity
Special Issues
Biogeography, Ecology and Conservation of Reptiles
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Biogeography, Ecology and Conservation of Reptiles

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2025 | Viewed by 1382

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Roger Meek

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, Via G. Tomasi di5 Lampedusa 33, I-00144 Rome, Italy
Interests: conservation; amphibian; reptiles
Prof. Dr. Luca Luiselli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Development Ecology Conservation and Cooperation Via G. Tomasi di Lampedusa 33 I, 00144 Rome, Italy
Interests: community ecology; reptile biology and conservation; tropical reptile ecology; chelonian conservation; reptile population biology; reptile dietary habits and foraging ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Diversity is a peer-reviewed open access journal publishing research on the science of biodiversity that publishes Special Issues that serve as collections of papers on specific topics. This latest Special Issue will focus on new studies on reptile ecology, evolution and conservation—three intrinsically linked subject areas. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website and this Special Issue particularly seeks studies that are interdisciplinary and that combine aspects of ecology, ethology and evolution, so that the contributions can be of broad interest to a large number of readers. There are no limitations as to biogeographical region, and studies from the Global South are particularly welcome.

Special Issue submissions follow MDPI's standard editorial process and the journal’s Editor-in-Chief and/or designated Editorial Board Member will oversee Guest Editor appointments and Special Issue proposals, assessing their content for relevance and ensuring the suitability of the material for the journal. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website. Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here. For any inquiries related to a Special Issue, please contact the Editorial Office.

Dr. Roger Meek
Prof. Dr. Luca Luiselli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • reptiles
  • ecology
  • evolution
  • conservation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

7 pages, 1277 KiB  
Article
Ecological Factors Associated with Burrow System Occupancy by Great Desert Skinks (Liopholis kintorei)
by Maria A. Eifler and Douglas A. Eifler
Diversity 2025, 17(2), 134; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17020134 - 15 Feb 2025
Viewed by 323
Abstract
The great desert skink (Liopholis kintorei, locally known as tjakuṟa) occupies burrow systems in arid regions of central Australia. Most burrow systems remain occupied for an average of 4, and up to 10, years by the same related individuals. The circumstances [...] Read more.
The great desert skink (Liopholis kintorei, locally known as tjakuṟa) occupies burrow systems in arid regions of central Australia. Most burrow systems remain occupied for an average of 4, and up to 10, years by the same related individuals. The circumstances associated with changes in occupancy are under active investigation. Factors linked to tjakuṟa abandoning burrow systems include intense fires and predation by feral cats (Felis catus). We examined ecological factors associated with whether burrow systems that were occupied in the previous year were currently occupied by tjakuṟa. We determined occupancy of previously occupied tjakuṟa burrow systems by the presence of fresh scats in their latrines. We also assessed the size, vegetation cover, and proximity of termite calics to burrow systems. Neither overall vegetation cover nor spinifex cover was related to burrow system occupancy, but larger burrow systems were more likely to remain occupied. Burrow systems within 10 m of termite structures were more—and those within 2.5 m of Grevillea were less—likely to remain occupied by tjakuṟa. The role of woody vegetation (Grevillea) and termite presence on risk of predation, the behavior of tjakuṟa, and burrow system occupancy merits further investigation on a longer timescale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biogeography, Ecology and Conservation of Reptiles)
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13 pages, 3022 KiB  
Article
Prime Basking Sites and Communal Basking in the Lizard, Lacerta bilineata; High Risk for Juveniles?
by Roger Meek and Luca Luiselli
Diversity 2024, 16(12), 728; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16120728 - 27 Nov 2024
Viewed by 696
Abstract
Sunlight and the heat it provides are important ecological resources for reptiles especially for those species living in temperate zones that bask extensively to maximize heat uptake. Sun basking has both benefits and costs for reptiles, giving heat that provides the energy to [...] Read more.
Sunlight and the heat it provides are important ecological resources for reptiles especially for those species living in temperate zones that bask extensively to maximize heat uptake. Sun basking has both benefits and costs for reptiles, giving heat that provides the energy to drive physiology but basking in open patches increases risk of predation due to higher visibility. Prime basking sites are believed to increase benefits for reptiles that include, in addition to open sunlit areas, facilitate detection of predators and prey and escape to nearby refuges. However, if such sites are limited, both inter and intra-specific interference may occur and this kind of competition may impact on a reptile’s ability to access prime basking sites, and as a consequence, its capacity to thermoregulate to optimum body temperatures. This may be especially important for juveniles, for whom rapid growth is a key factor in survivorship. We studied communal basking and interaction events at prime basking sites in the European green lizard, Lacerta bilineata, in a hedgerow in western France. We compared basking behaviour of adults and juveniles with sympatric adult wall lizards Podarcis muralis using non-invasive photographic-mark-recapture. Adult L. bilineata were more evenly distributed across basking sights compared to juveniles but significant differences were only detected between males and juveniles. Juvenile L. bilineata abandoned basking sites at the approach of both adult males and females and were aggressively removed by adult male L. bilineata. We found inter-specific communal basking between both adult and juvenile L. bilineata with adult wall lizards P. muralis. Communal basking was observed between male and female L. bilineata but not between adult males or between adult female L. bilineata. Communal basking was in proportionally greater frequency in juveniles compared to adult L. bilineata. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biogeography, Ecology and Conservation of Reptiles)
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