Thermobiological characters of toad-headed agamas (Phrynocephalus mystaceus) (Reptilia, Agamidae) on the Sarykum dune (Dagestan, Russia) obtained by using of temperature loggers

Abstract

The paper compares two variants of thermobiological studies of toad-headed agamas (Phrynocephalus mystaceus) – the traditional one, based on route trapping and measurements of body temperature in captured lizards, and the new one, using temperature loggers that register body temperature once a minute and implemented interperitoneally. Both work options are not alternative. The main thing is the correct interpretation of the results: the traditional method provides data obtained from many individuals characterizing the temperature parameters of the activity of the studied reptiles. The new technique allows, although on a limited number of individuals, but with a huge number of measurements, to obtain the calculated characters of the reptiles' thermoregulation. Both of them successfully complement each other and, with subsequent refinement, could represent some single whole, allowing for a more complete and accurate understanding and description of the thermal biology of different reptile species.