The Herpetological Journal
The Herpetological Journal is the Society's prestigious quarterly scientific journal. Articles are listed in Biological Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences,Current Contents, Science Citation Index, and Zoological Record.
ISSN 0268-0130
2021 Impact Factor from Clarivate for the Herpetological Journal is 1.194, an increase of 0.332 from 2020.
pdf 06. Chameleons on the cruise: seasonal differences in prey choice of two dwarf chameleons
1045 downloads
Open Access
pp. 221-227
Authors: Carne, Liza & Measey, G. John
Abstract: Chameleons exhibit unique foraging behaviour among lizards. They are classified as cruise foragers, an intermediate foraging mode between sit-and-wait and active foraging, but it is not known whether cruise foraging is seasonally adaptive. Seasonal changes in stomach contents and available prey were quantified for two dwarf chameleon species: Bradypodion ventrale from coastal thicket habitats and B. taeniabronchum from montane fynbos habitat. Around twice the number of invertebrates were available in the fynbos and thicket habitats during summer; moreover the volume of invertebrates available during summer was approximately double. We found that chameleons increased the number of food items in winter to equal summer stomach volumes, and these changes were particularly evident for the montane species B. taeniabronchum. Winter austerity was shown for both chameleons as they were more likely to take hard prey in winter, compared to summer when hard prey items were avoided.
Keywords: LIZARDS, THICKET, PREDATOR-PREY, FYNBOS, ELECTIVITY, BRADYPODION, CRUISE FORAGING
Download Access:
The latest 8 issues can be downloaded when logged in with a Herpetological Journal subscription membership.
Individual articles can be purchased for download.
Older issues and occasional Open Access articles are available for public download
Submissions:
For further information and submission guidelines please see our Journal Instructions to Authors
Latest Issue
IMPORTANT NOTE - JUNE 2020
Please note that as from Volume 31 Number 1 (January 2021) on, the Herpetological Journal will be available as an online publication only - the last print edition will be Volume 30 Number 4.
Aligning with this change, it is now no longer possible to purchase a subscription that includes a print copy of the HJ. All members who have existing HJ print subscriptions that remain active as at end June 2020 will receive the full four 2020 print editions. New subscribers or renewals after this time will only have option to subscribe to the online only subscription package. Subscription pricing has been amended to reflect the content changes.