Comparison of the effectiveness of phalanges vs. humeri and femurs to estimate lizard age with skeletochronology

Skeletochronology allows estimation of lizard age with a single capture (from a bone), making long-term monitoring unnecessary. Nevertheless, this method often involves the death of the animal to obtain the bone. We tested the reliability of skeletochronology of phalanges (which may be obtained with...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Comas, Mar, Reguera, Senda, Zamora-Camacho, Francisco J., Salvadó i Cabré, Humbert, Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/150710
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/150710
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Herpetologia
Demografia
Conservació de la natura
Herpetology
Demography
Nature conservation
Descripción
Sumario:Skeletochronology allows estimation of lizard age with a single capture (from a bone), making long-term monitoring unnecessary. Nevertheless, this method often involves the death of the animal to obtain the bone. We tested the reliability of skeletochronology of phalanges (which may be obtained without killing) by comparing the estimated age from femurs and humeri with the age estimated from phalanges. Our results show skeletochronology of phalanges is a reliable method to estimate age in lizards as cross-section readings from all bones studied presented a high correlation and repeatability regardless of the bone chosen. This approach provides an alternative to the killing of lizards for skeletochronology studies.