Data from: When the going gets tough: behavioral type dependent space use in the sleepy lizard changes as the season dries

Understanding space use remains a major challenge for animal ecology, with
implications for species interactions, disease spread, and conservation.
Behavioural type (BT) may shape the space use of individuals within animal
populations. Bolder or more aggressive individuals tend to be more
exploratory and disperse further. Yet, to date we have limited knowledge
on how space use other than dispersal depends on BT. To address this
question we studied BT-dependent space-use patterns of sleepy lizards
(Tiliqua rugosa) in southern Australia. We combined high-resolution global
positioning system (GPS) tracking of 72 free-ranging lizards with repeated
behavioural assays, and with a survey of the spatial distributions of
their food and refuge resources. Bayesian generalized linear mixed models
(GLMM) showed that lizards responded to the spatial distribution of
resources at the neighbourhood scale and to the intensity of space use by
other conspecifics (showing apparent conspecific avoidance). BT
(especially aggressiveness) affected space use by lizards and their
response to ecological and social factors, in a seasonally dependent
manner. Many of these effects and interactions were stronger later in the
season when food became scarce and environmental conditions got tougher.
For example, refuge and food availability became more important later in
the season and unaggressive lizards were more responsive to these
predictors. These findings highlight a commonly overlooked source of
heterogeneity in animal space use and improve our mechanistic
understanding of processes leading to behaviourally driven disease
dynamics and social structure.