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.
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pp.136-139
Authors: Roger Avery
Abstract: Slightly disturbing captive common lizards , Lacerta vivipara, by movement and noise while they are basking in laboratory arenas resulted in an increase in respiration frequency (Rf) and a decrease in the probability that a lizard would respond to the introduction of a potential prey item. Two categories of prey (crickets and mealworms) were presented at three locations defined in relation to the snout of a lizard; there were clear negative correlations between Rf and probability of feeding in all cases. Respiration frequency can thus be used as a means for determining whether a lizard in a feeding trial has been diverted by extraneous stimuli. This is important in investigations of foraging efficiency in relation to perceptual fields and movement patterns, in which it is necessary to know that experimental animals have not been diverted in this way.