Observations on the Nesting Ecology and Early Life History of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus)

Population studies of the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) suggest that fluctuations in the population dynamics of this lizard are driven by spatial and temporal variation in annual recruitment. Although variation in survival of eggs or embryos is known to contribute greatly to variation in annual recruitment in many other lizard species, little is known about these early life history stages and their contributions to the population dynamics of S. arenicolus. Here we describe the first 3 observations of nesting in the wild for S. arenicolus. All observations took place between 2005 and 2011 at Caprock Wildlife Area, 48 km east of Roswell, New Mexico. From these observations, we supplement existing knowledge of these early life history stages, which can inform working models of life history evolution for this lizard endemic to the Mescalero Sands and Monahans Sandhills ecosystems.