Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 86:1-6, 2003 
The western bearded dragon, Pogona minor (Squamata: Agamidae): 
An early lizard coloniser of rehabilitated areas 
S A Thompson & G G Thompson 
Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup Drive, 
Joondalup, WA 6027 £3 s.thompson@ecu.edu.au, g.thompson@ecu.edu.au 
(Manuscript received March 2002; accepted August 2002) 
Abstract 
We investigated why the western bearded dragon ( Pogona minor) is an early coloniser of 
rehabilitated waste dumps in the mining area around Ora Banda, Western Australia. The daily 
distance travelled for 19 (14 female and 5 male) P. minor , measured using nylon thread spools 
attached to the lizard's tail, was 115 m. This corresponded to a mean linear distance moved of 68 
m. Our data suggest that P. minor are one of the first species of reptiles to colonise mine site 
rehabilitation areas because they move appreciably greater daily distances than other agamid 
lizards, are spatially widely-foraging, frequently forage in or use saltbush ( Atriplex spp) and 
bluebush (Maireana spp) as basking sites, regularly traverse open areas, readily move up and down 
steep slopes, and eat bull ants which are generally present on rehabilitated sites. Pogona minor also 
have a high reproductive potential and show no obvious aversion to mine sites as oviposition 
locations. Pogona minor eggs incubated at 27 °C took an average of 64 days to hatch, the mean 
snout-to-vent length was 36.1 mm and the mean mass was 1.74 g. 
Keywords: Western bearded dragon, Pogona minor, daily distance travelled, recolonisation, 
rehabilitated mine site, reproduction 
Introduction 
Although western bearded dragons ( Pogona minor) are 
a common and conspicuous agamid lizard, particularly 
in spring when they are often seen on country roads, 
little is known about their daily movements or their 
biology (Greer 1989). Pogona minor is one of three species 
of bearded dragons (P. minor, P. microlepidota and P. 
nullarbor) in Western Australia (Aplin & Smith, 2001). 
Bearded dragons are medium-sized and stout in shape, 
with a well-developed row of spines on the head and 
along the sides of the body (Storr et al. 1983). The lizards 
in this study all had white mouths; elsewhere in the state 
some have yellow mouths. 
Pogona minor is found in most habitat types in the 
Western Australian goldfields and is thought to be a 
widely-foraging, generalist feeder (Pianka 1986). 
Anecdotal evidence indicates that P. minor is one of the 
early colonising reptiles in mine site rehabilitation areas. 
It is not known if this is because of their widely-foraging 
behaviour with no apparent home range, or because they 
move greater distances in a day compared to other 
agamids, prefer the disturbed type of habitat often 
present in rehabilitated areas, or their relative high 
fecundity (based on multiple clutches in a season; 
Bradshaw 1981; B Jennings, University of Texas at 
Austin, personal communication) and recruitment forces 
juveniles into new areas. 
The presence of P. minor on rehabilitated mine sites 
and the proportion of total species richness were used to 
© Royal Society of Western Australia 2003 
determine whether this species is an early coloniser in 
rehabilitated mining areas. If P. minor is present and 
represents a higher proportion of the species in 
rehabilitated areas compared with the adjacent 
undisturbed areas, then this is evidence that they are one 
of the first species to colonise an area. Evidence of 
successful reproduction by species in a rehabilitated area 
would also provide evidence of successful colonisation 
into the area. Rehabilitated sites that are developing into 
self-sustaining functional ecosystems generally have less 
species than the adjacent undisturbed areas (Read 1999). 
Presuming an appropriate rehabilitation program is in 
place on the mine site, species richness will increase as 
species progressively move from the adjacent areas into 
the rehabilitated area (Fox & McKay 1981; Fox & Fox 
1984; Fox 1990). 
The aim of this research was to investigate the daily 
movement patterns of P. minor in the mining area around 
Ora Banda, Western Australia, to ascertain if there was a 
pattern to their daily movements ( e.g . confined within an 
activity area), how far they travel in a day, which micro¬ 
habitats they frequent, and whether these data can shed 
light on why this species is an early coloniser in 
rehabilitated mine areas. 
Methods 
Pit-traps (alternating lines of 20 L PVC buckets and 
600 x 150 mm PVC pipes, 5-6 m apart and joined by 300 
mm high fly-wire drift fences) were used at 
rehabilitated mine sites and the adjacent undisturbed 
areas in the vicinity of Ora Banda (30° 22’ S, 121° 03' E) 
to capture small vertebrates. Seventy two pit-traps (12 
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