Burrowing energetics and comparative morphology of skinks

Honours project - University of Queensland, Australia

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Advisor:

Assoc. Prof. Craig R. White

 

About:

Burrowing is the most energetically costly form of locomotion undertaken by animals. The energetic cost of burrowing has been well studied in a wide variety of animals, but no data existed for reptiles. I examined how temperature and substrate affected the energetic cost of burrowing in two semi-fossorial skinks, the night skink, and the desert skink. I also compared body morphology of related species within the Egernia-complex group (18 species) in relation to their habitat retreats to determine if differences in body shapes were due to their preference to habitat types.

 

Skills:

Morphometric analysis, open-flow respirometry, phylogenetic tree reconstruction, and reptile maintenance and handling (Egernia skinks).

 

Species:

• Pink-tongue skink (Cyclodomorphus gerrardii)

• Major skink (Bellatorias frerei)

• Cunningham's skink (Egernia cunninghami)

• Tree skink (Egernia striolata)

• Desert skink (Liopholis inornata)

• Night skink (Liopholis striata)

• Shingleback skink (Tiliqua rugrosa)

• Blue-tongue skink (Tiliqua scincoides)