Effects of soil moisture on microhabitat selection of two fossorial amphisbaenian reptiles from contrasting environments

Abstract Climate conditions strongly influence variations in habitat characteristics, and therefore, can mediate habitat selection. For example, increased extreme climatic events expected from climate change, such as extended drought periods or torrential rains, can alter soil conditions. However, the effects of climate fluctuations on fossorial vertebrates that inhabit subterranean environments, where soil characteristics play a fundamental role in their ecology and behavior, remain insufficiently studied. In this study, we investigated microhabitat (substrate) selection in relation to soil moisture in two fossorial amphisbaenian reptile species from different environments: Blanus cinereus , from an Iberian continental temperate mountain forest, and Trogonophis wiegmanni, from a North African coastal warm and arid shrubland area. In a laboratory experiment, we examined the preferences of the amphisbaenians for substrates manipulated to have different moisture levels. We found that only B. cinereus showed a significant response, avoiding substrates with high moisture levels, while T. wiegmanni did not show a significant preference for any specific substrate moisture level. Our findings suggest that interspecific differences in responses to soil moisture depend on environmental differences, and these results have important implications for understanding how climate change may affect the ecology and conservation of fossorial reptiles in different natural environments. However, habitat selection patterns do not imply tolerance or vulnerability to different conditions, and future studies should examine whether both species show some tolerance to short‐term drought periods, whereas B. cinereus may be more sensitive to flood conditions resulting from torrential rains, suggesting a higher vulnerability to climatic fluctuation.