Movement Ecology

Movement patterns characterize every animal and provide a window into that animal’s decision-making. We study movement to examine the behavior of individuals, which can include the way they monitor their environment, interact socially, use the habitat, forage, or avoid predators. 

Some key projects focused on movement include

• Space use by a population of blanched lizards (Holbrookia maculata) in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas [Orton et al. 2024] and toad-headed agama lizards (Phrynocephalus versicolor) in Mongolia [Utsumi et al. 2025]

• Niche partitioning among 3 species of racerunner lizards in the same genus (Acanthodactylus) in the Sahara Desert, Tunisia [Eifler et al. 2023]

• Niche partitioning between 2 ecologically similar, cooccurring species in the Great Basin Desert, Oregon
McAlpine-Bellis et al., 2023

• Intraspecific differences in behavior in leopard lizards (Gambelis wislizenii) in Oregon [Garrison et al., 2017],  checkered whiptails (Aspidoscelis neotellatus) in Colorado [Kusaka et al. 2021 and Utsumi et al. 2020], and dune lizards (Meroles anchiete) in the Namib Desert [Eifler et al. 2020] 

• Predator avoidance behavior in the Dominica ground lizard (Pholidoscelis fuscatus) [Grotbeck et al., 2019], little striped whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis inornatus) in Texas [Lui et al., 2021], 2 species of dune lizard (Meroles) in Namibia [Eifler & Eifler 2014], and leopard lizards (Gambelia wislizenii) in Oregon [Jacobson et al., 2016]. More recently, we’ve finished projects on anti-predator behavior in racerunner lizards (Acanthodactylus maculatus) in Tunisia [Chhoumi et al. 2024], lava lizards (Microlophus atacamensis) in coastal Chile [Eifler et al. 2025], and earless lizards (Holbrookia maculata) in Texas [Utsumi et al. 2026].

• Habitat use in toad-headed Agama lizards (Phrynocephalus versicolor) in Mongolia [Eifler & Eifler 2019], horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) in Arizona [Eifler et al. 2019], geckos (Chondrodactylus turneri) in Namibia [Eifler et al., 2017], great desert skinks (Liopholis kintorei) in the Australian outback [Eifler & Eifler 2025], semiaquatic anoles (Anolis aquaticus) in Costa Rica [Eifler et al. 2025], and racerunners (Acanthodactylus boskianus) in Tunisia [Utsumi et al. in press]