Lizard pitfall trap data from 11 NPP study locations at the Jornada Basin LTER site, 1989-2006

This data package contains data on lizards sampled by pitfall traps
located at 11 consumer plots at Jornada Basin LTER site from
1989-2006. The objective of this study is to observe how shifts in
vegetation resulting from desertification processes in the
Chihuahaun desert have changed the spatial and temporal availability
of resources for consumers. Desertification changes in the Jornada
Basin include changes from grass to shrub dominated communities and
major soil changes. If grassland systems respond to rainfall without
significant lags, but shrub systems do not, then consumer species
should reflect these differences. In addition, shifts from grassland
to shrubland results in greater structural heterogeneity of the
habitats. We hypothesized that consumer populations, diversity, and
densities of some consumers will be higher in grasslands than in
shrublands and will be related to the NPP of the sites. Lizards were
captured in pitfall traps at the 11 LTER II/III consumer plots (a
subset of NPP plots) quarterly for 2 weeks per quarter. Variables
measured include species, sex, recapture status, snout-vent length,
total length, weight, and whether tail is broken or whole. This
study is complete.