Behavioral description of the endangered lizard Liolaemus arambarensis in its natural Restinga environment through continuous filming

Behavioral description is of key importance for the development of research and conservation projects for animals. Lizards are commonly classified by their foraging behavior, which can occur in a spectrum from “strictly ambush” to “wide-foraging”. Such characteristics are of taxonomic importance and play a crucial role in ecological function. Classic studies investigating foraging in lizards usually observe individuals in the field, but observer bias and other impacts may be poorly accounted for. We use surveillance cameras to describe the behavior of an endangered sand lizard. Continuous video was captured from 3 points within the study area on the dunes coasting the Patos Lagoon (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) for 48 days mostly during the hot season, which was screened for the appearance of the species, resulting in 7.35 hours of lizard footage. The behaviors performed were then identified and denoted. From this we observed that the individuals spent 90% of the time stationary, and in the remaining 10% they were found mostly dislocating, changing body posture or performing a sexual/territorial display. It was then possible to classify the species as a typical ambush predator. In addition, the predation footage obtained fit perfectly with that model. The recordings also showed other native vertebrate species as well as invasive wild-boars, which are a threat to the ecosystem. These findings inform the management and conservation needs of the Restinga habitat, that already faces many preservation challenges, and expand the prospects for future work both for the ethology and ecology of lizards.