Understanding the factors that drive geographic variation in life history is an important
challenge in evolutionary ecology. Here, we analyze what predicts geographic variation in …

Environmental pollution and habitat loss are described as underlying causes for population
declines in reptiles and especially affect species in agricultural landscapes. Studies dealing …

The identification of previously captured individuals is essential for a wide variety of
ecological and behavioural studies. A lot of different methods are used for marking lizards …

The success of ectoparasites depends primarily on the site of attachment and body condition
of their hosts. Ticks usually tend to aggregate on vertebrate hosts in specific areas, but the …

Animal signals can differ considerably in complexity and composition, even among closely
related species. Work on vocal and visual signals has revealed how sexual selection can …

Abstract Background Anaplasmataceae and Borrelia burgdorferi sl are important tick-borne
bacteria maintained in nature by transmission between ticks and vertebrate hosts. However …

Caudal autotomy is a common anti-predator strategy in many species of lizards (Bateman &
Fleming 2009). A tail loss is possible for the certain species of lizards due to the vertebral …

In this study, we have evaluated the physical characteristics of neonate, female, and male
Mongolian racerunners (Eremias argus) and determined the age structure of a population of …

Locomotor performance affects foraging efficiency, predator avoidance and consequently
fitness. Agility and speed determine the animal's social status and reflect its condition. In this …

Accepted: 14. February 2014/Available online: 20. July 2014/Printed: December 2014
Abstract. The field cricket Gryllus campestris used to be very common throughout Europe …