The Western Fence Lizard

If you live in California, you’re probably seeing western fence lizards, Sceloporus occidentalis, all over the place aren’t you?! We often think of this species as a hardy to the consequences of urbanization. However, even they have some specific habitat requirements.

Microhabitats are the individual parts of a habitat. Think logs, leaves on the ground, rocks, bushes, etc.

A 2022 study by Rurik et al. saw lizard occupancy rates jump from 62% to 90% in areas where there were at least 4 potential rock refuges in a habitat in comparison to those that lacked rocks as microhabitat options. There results also showed that the presence of trees had a positive impact on lizards and supported previous studies that noted that residential gardens (a note from me - make sure your gardens include native species!) benefit lizards.

As we humans continue to build more and more, species specific natural history information is going to become even more important. We have to include features for wildlife into our urban planning if we want to conserve biodiversity not just for lizards but for all species.

Now, can you #FindThatLizard?!

Let me know below in the comments with #FoundThatLizard!