Thermal ecology and activity cycle of Podarcis milensis in a sandy coastal area

Field body temperatures (T(b)s), activity cycles, and preferred body temperatures maintained in a laboratory thermogradient (T-sel) were studied for Podarcis milensis, a small, endemic, lacertid lizard occurring in Milos Archipelago, Greece. P. milensis is active all year round; overall maximum activity level is recorded in spring, and minimum activity in winter. Daily activity patterns range from unimodal (winter) to strongly bimodal (summer). Body temperature of adults of the examined population (n = 188) averages 31.3 degrees C range 21.5-38.4 degrees C, SD 3.27 degrees C; mean monthly T(b)s are grouped together into "seasons". The species actively thermoregulates, and effectiveness of thermoregulation for the month of August is high, 0.95. The thermoregulatory behavior, microhabitat utilization, and activity cycle of this population are all discussed in the specific context of our study system: the harsh thermal environment of an insular sand dune.