Survey Of Reptiles And Ecological Study Of Two Sympatric Lizards Mabuya Striata And Lygodactylus Keniensis From Nechisar National Park Ethiopia

Studies on species composition, diversity, evenness and relative abundance ofrnreptiles in Nechisar National Park were carried out from October 2007 to Aprilrn2008. Reptiles were surveyed by using active search, pitfall trapping and cover sheetrnmethods. A total 34 species belonging to 3 orders (Order Squamata, OrderrnTestudines and Order Crocodylia) were recorded. The Order Squamata was the mostrndiverse containing 30 species belonging to 2 Suborders, Sauria which comprises 19rnspecies belonging to 7 Families and 10 Genera and Serpentes comprising 12 speciesrnbelonging to 4 Families and 13 Genera. The Order Testudines comprised 3 speciesrnbelonging to 2 Families. The Order Crocodylia comprised only one species. Therndiversity of reptiles varied among the different habitat types. Bushland habitat hadrnthe highest number of reptilian species (29.69% of the collected species). From therntotal species recorded, 11 (29%) were new records from the area. Detailedrnobservations were made on the lizards Lygodactylus keniensis and Mabuya striata.rnThese lizards were found to have a very high overlap in their temporal nicherndimension, which is compensated by low overlaps in their spatial and food nicherndimensions.rnKey words: - Competition, niche breadth, niche dimensions, reptiles, resourcernpartitioning, species composition, sympatry

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