Haematology of the Sleepy Lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) in Australia's cereal croplands, 2010

The qualities of these data include: (i) sound experimental design to detect a change between confounding factors, (ii) large sample size, (iii) microchipped animals, (iv) validated heamatological processing on the wild Australian lizard Tiliqua rugosa involving a collaboration between wildlife ecologists and veterinary scientists. Its reuse potential may involve a comparative analysis of body size, haematological parameters with other long-lived, medium-sized lizards, ectoparasite studies (Aponomma hydrosauri, Amblyomma libatum) for different host populations, and background justification for ecotoxicological (pesticide) studies in farmland. Using a using a multivariate, one-way nested Type I PERMANCOVA (analysis of covariance) design, body size, blood samples and ectoparasite presence was collected on a total of 119 animals from two different populations in southern Australia. One population was from an intensively managed cropping environment and one was from an adjacent a less intensively managed grazing environment. This study took place in extensive rangelands and the fragmented landscapes of the South Australian Murray Mallee cereal cropland in southern Australia. Adult and juvenile T. rugosa were captured for sampling at one rangeland (baseline) site and three severely modified (severe) landscape-scaled sites (LS1, LS2, LS3) over a large area (68 km × 84 km or 571,200 ha) across the croplands. Two animal sampling designs were used to collect data on physiological health (Design 1: Baseline vs Severe and Design 2 - Severe only). Data collected: Record No., Animal No., Treatment, Habitat Type, Landscape No., Connectivity Class, Age Class, Linear Body Size Index (LBSI), Heterophil (H) Field of View, Heterophil per microlitre, Total White Blood Cell Count, Absolute Heterophil Count, % Heterophil Count, Absolute Lymphocyte (L) Count, % Lymphocytes, H:L Ratio (Absolute), H:L Ratio (%), Absolute Monocytes, % Monocytes , Absolute Other Granulocytes , % Other Granulocytes, % Polychromasia, Snout-Vent Length (mm), Total No. Ectoparasites per Animal.

本数据集具备以下特征：（一）严谨的实验设计，可精准检测混杂因素间的差异；（二）样本量充足；（三）受试动物均植入微芯片（microchip）标记；（四）针对野生澳大利亚蜥蜴钝尾蓝舌蜥（Tiliqua rugosa）建立了经过验证的血液学处理流程，该流程由野生动物生态学家与兽医科学家合作完成。
本数据集的再利用潜力包括：可开展体型、血液学参数与其他长寿中型蜥蜴的比较分析；可开展不同宿主种群的体外寄生虫（Aponomma hydrosauri、Amblyomma libatum）相关研究；可为农田生态毒理学（农药）研究提供背景依据。
本研究采用多变量单向嵌套I型置换协方差分析（PERMANCOVA，协方差分析）设计，共收集了澳大利亚南部两个种群共119只个体的体型、血液样本及体外寄生虫感染情况数据。其中一个种群来自集约化种植农田生境，另一个种群来自相邻的低集约化放牧生境。
本次研究的采样区域位于澳大利亚南部南澳默里马利（Murray Mallee）谷物种植区的广阔牧场与破碎化景观中。研究人员在总面积达68km×84km（约571200公顷）的农田区域内，于1个牧场基线样地与3个严重改造的景观尺度样地（LS1、LS2、LS3）中捕获成年与幼年钝尾蓝舌蜥（T. rugosa）进行采样。
本次研究采用两种动物采样方案以收集生理健康相关数据：方案1为基线组与改造组对照，方案2仅针对改造组采样。
本次采集的数据包括：记录编号、动物编号、处理组、生境类型、景观编号、连通性等级、年龄组、线性体型指数（LBSI）、异嗜性粒细胞（H）视野数、每微升异嗜性粒细胞数、白细胞总数、绝对异嗜性粒细胞计数、异嗜性粒细胞百分比、绝对淋巴细胞（L）计数、淋巴细胞百分比、绝对H:L比值、H:L比值百分比、绝对单核细胞计数、单核细胞百分比、其他粒细胞绝对计数、其他粒细胞百分比、多染性红细胞百分比、吻肛长（mm）、单只动物体外寄生虫总数。