College of Natural and Computational Sciences

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Browsing College of Natural and Computational Sciences by Author "A.Saber Samy (Professor)"

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    Survey of Reptiles and Ecological Study of Two Sympatric Lizards Mabuya Striata and Lygodactylus Keniensis from Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2008-07) Gebre Fikirte; A.Saber Samy (Professor)
    Studies on species composition, diversity, evenness and relative abundance of reptiles in Nechisar National Park were carried out from October 2007 to April 2008. Reptiles were surveyed by using active search, pitfall trapping and cover sheet methods. A total 34 species belonging to 3 orders (Order Squamata, Order Testudines and Order Crocodylia) were recorded. The Order Squamata was the most diverse containing 30 species belonging to 2 Suborders, Sauria which comprises 19 species belonging to 7 Families and 10 Genera and Serpentes comprising 12 species belonging to 4 Families and 13 Genera. The Order Testudines comprised 3 species belonging to 2 Families. The Order Crocodylia comprised only one species. The diversity of reptiles varied among the different habitat types. Bushland habitat had the highest number of reptilian species (29.69% of the collected species). From the total species recorded, 11 (29%) were new records from the area. Detailed observations were made on the lizards Lygodactylus keniensis and Mabuya striata. These lizards were found to have a very high overlap in their temporal niche dimension, which is compensated by low overlaps in their spatial and food niche dimensions. Key words: - Competition, niche breadth, niche dimensions, reptiles, resource partitioning, species composition, sympatry