Factores ambientales condicionantes de la presencia de la lagartija de Carbonell Podarcis carbonelli (Pérez-Mellado, 1981) en la comarca de Doñana

The Carbonell lizard (Podarcis carbonelli) is an Iberian endemism. The region of Doñana is its southernmost and more isolated stronghold. We used logistic regressions to investigate the factors conditioning the presence of this lizard in Doñana. All selected models retained the distance to the coast as the main variable. This variable is related with less humidity and more continental climatic conditions, including more extreme temperatures, when further from the coast. This climatic factor was observed both spatially and temporarily, with adult lizards drastically reducing their activity both in winter and in summer. We observed juveniles from June to January, with a maximum in September. Scrubland management was another important environmental factor affecting the presence of lizards. The probability of finding this species was higher where the scrubland was partially cleared, and lower in areas with a high plant cover (hygrophytic scrubland) or in areas with sparse vegetation (dune scrubland), probably due to a lower amount of incident light and less protection when moving between refuges, respectively.