User:Akashevolution/sandbox

Eastern Fence Lizards are found in a wide range of habitats such as woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands essentially sticking to areas such as trees. In the night time, they go into the underground where they would go and hide in rock crevices. Eastern Fence Lizards have sort of a dorsal coloration such as gray, brown,or bronze and usually, have several wavy dark scales. The scales are dark and overlapping giving it a much more visible presence.These lizards are usually found in Southeastern area of North America and are located in open forests,trees,fences, and rock piles in which they avoid very wet or shaded habitats. Fence Lizards have a major distinction between other lizards, in that they are not particularly found on barrier islands. The role that Eastern Fence Lizards play in a niche environment has to do with eating various types of insects,crickets, and spiders. However, since these lizards are predators to some of these various types of species they fall prey to others such as cats, dogs, and hawks. Eastern Fence Lizards are approachable to other to anyone and can be found anywhere in rural and suburban yards as well as the sides of buildings. The Eastern Fence Lizard species are thriving in rich habitat as well as pine forests. These species are important to the ecosystem/humans because these lizards help educate the people about the conversation and reptiles by decreasing the insect and arachnid populations.

Rough Draft

The origin of the Eastern Lizards earned their name through daytime baskers in which they lie on top of fence posts. Eastern Fence Lizards are mostly defined to be shiny lizards, in which they have rough and pointy scales on the backs. The colors of the Eastern Fence Lizards vary from gray to brown, and they can be seen through a variety of habitats such as woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands. The rest of the article will discuss the natural history, ecology, and conservation biology. The Eastern Fences lizards diet varies from some invertebrates such as beetles, ants, grasshoppers, and stinkbugs. Fence lizards usually feed on snakes, birds, as well as cats and other reptiles. The lifespan of Eastern Fence Lizards ranges from about 3-5 years.These lizards are usually found in Southeastern area of North America and are located in open forests,trees, fences, and rock piles in which they avoid very wet or shaded habitats.

Fence Lizards have a major distinction between other lizards, in that they are not particularly found on barrier islands. The role that Eastern Fence Lizards play in a niche environment has to do with eating various types of insects, crickets, and spiders. However, since these lizards are predators to some of these various types of species they fall prey to others such as cats, dogs, and hawks. Eastern Fence Lizards are approachable to anyone and can be found anywhere in rural and suburban yards as well as the sides of buildings. The Eastern Fence Lizard species are thriving in rich habitat as well as pine forests. These species are important to the ecosystem/humans because these lizards help educate the people about the conversation of reptiles by decreasing the insect and arachnid populations.

Reproduction in Eastern Fence Lizards is quite interesting, they generally lay 3-16 eggs in the late spring and female lizards usually lay eggs in the late summer. Eastern Fence lizards are found throughout the southeast and they are particularly found in field edges and open forests. In terms of sexual dimphorism, males are generally much smaller than females. The tail length in females is usually smaller than in males, and males are usually brown to black and the dorsum of the female is gray.

Largett, By Jennifer. "Sceloporus Undulatus (Fence Lizard)." Animal Diversity Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. "News and Events." North Carolina Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. "Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus Undulatus)." Species Profile:. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. @nwf. "Eastern Fence Lizard - National Wildlife Federation." Eastern Fence Lizard - National Wildlife Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016 "Field Guide to Maryland's Lizards (Order Squamata)." Lacertilia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. "Reptiles and Amphibians of Virginia." Eastern Fence Lizard. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

---

Final Draft each section labeled etc.

Introduction To Eastern Fence Lizards/habitat:

Eastern Fence Lizards are part of the genus Sceloporous Undulatus which is derived from the word scelos "leg" and the latin word porous "hole". The range of Eastern Fence Lizards exists from the southern half of the U.S. and the adult size of the lizard can range from 4 to 7 inches in total length. The origin of the Eastern Lizards earned their name through daytime baskers in which they lie on top of fence posts. Eastern Fence Lizards are mostly defined to be shiny lizards, in which they have rough and pointy scales on their backs.(National Wildlife Federation) The colors of the Eastern Fence Lizards vary from gray to brown, and they can be seen through a variety of habitats such as woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands. The Eastern Fences lizards diet varies from some invertebrates such as beetles, ants, grasshoppers, and stinkbugs. Fence lizards usually feed on snakes, birds, as well as cats and other reptiles. The lifespan of Eastern Fence Lizards ranges from about 3-5 years.These lizards are usually found in Southeastern area of North America and are located in open forests,trees, fences, and rock piles in which they avoid very wet or shaded habitats.Eastern Fence lizards are found throughout the southeast and they are particularly found in field edges and open forests.

Role/Predation

Fence Lizards have a major distinction between other lizards, in that they are not particularly found on barrier islands. The role that Eastern Fence Lizards play in a niche environment has to do with eating various types of insects, crickets, and spiders. However, since these lizards are predators to some of these various types of species they fall prey to others such as cats, dogs, and hawks. Eastern Fence Lizards are approachable to anyone and can be found anywhere in rural and suburban yards as well as the sides of buildings. The Eastern Fence Lizard species are thriving in rich habitat as well as pine forests. The species can also prey stink bugs, ants, blow flies, moths, and snails. These species are important to the ecosystem/humans because these lizards help educate the people about the conservation of reptiles by decreasing the insect and arachnid populations. Male Fence Lizards tend to fall as prey with their large blue patches to birds, thus having a high mortality rate. Females on the other hand also serve as prey to birds and have a high mortality rate during egg laying since they have to protect their eggs thus looking more vulnerable and susceptible to predators. Overall, the species tend to prey upon plenty of insects as well as other invertebrates.

Reproduction/Mating and Sexual Dimorphism

Reproduction in Eastern Fence Lizards is quite interesting, they generally lay 3-16 eggs in the late spring and female lizards usually lay eggs in the late summer.The mating season begins in April and works by males flashing their blue patches to attract females. A pheromone is secreted during and after the breeding season to attract females.In terms of sexual dimphorism, males are generally much smaller than females. The tail length in females is usually smaller than in males, and males are usually brown to black and the dorsum of the female is gray. Juveniles tend to have the same color patterns as Adults. In terms of reproduction, females tend to lay about 6-10 cream-colored eggs in late spring.

Behavior

The behavior of Fence Lizards are really peculiar in nature, males flash their blue patch and start to do push ups to show superiority to other males that this is in their territory. The behaviors that are exhibited by these Eastern Fence Lizards usually are males, and exhibit certain movements when they see another female or male. The duration of these particular movements lasts about 4-5 seconds and consist of extended dewlap, lateral compression of the body, gorged throat, and a four-legged stance that is associated with the displays. The behaviors that reside in Eastern Fence Lizards are known to be called fixed action patterns since they are innate.

Largett, By Jennifer. "Sceloporus Undulatus (Fence Lizard)." Animal Diversity Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. "News and Events." North Carolina Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. 2.) 2.)"Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus Undulatus)." Species Profile:. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. @nwf. "Eastern Fence Lizard - National Wildlife Federation." Eastern Fence Lizard - National Wildlife Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 3.)2016 "Field Guide to Maryland's Lizards (Order Squamata)." Lacertilia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. "Reptiles and Amphibians of Virginia." Eastern Fence Lizard. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. (www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/lizards/eastern-fence-lizard/eastern_fence_lizard.php.)

Citation Websites:

http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/lizards/eastern-fence-lizard/eastern_fence_lizard.php http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/amphibians-reptiles-and-fish/eastern-fence-lizard.aspx http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Lizard-Species/Eastern-Fence-Lizard/ http://srelherp.uga.edu/lizards/sceund.htm http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sceloporus_undulatus/#food_habits