Post-translocation monitoring of an Egyptian Spiny-tailed Lizard, Uromastyx aegyptia (Forskål 1775), population displaced by a global giga-project

Abstract

Infrastructure development programs and giga-projects (massive development initiatives) on the Arabian
Peninsula are implementing large-scale faunal translocation efforts to promote nature recovery. Consequently, many
species that have been locally extirpated are being restored. However, extant species also can be subject to translocations
when populations are threatened by infrastructure development. Such is the case with the vulnerable Egyptian Spinytailed
Lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia) population in the boundary of the NEOM giga-project spanning 26,500 km2 in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Surveys were conducted to quantify Egyptian Spiny-tailed Lizard distribution
and home range overlap within the infrastructure development footprint. Individual animals detected within that
footprint were then captured and released in a reserve outside the path of construction. Post-release monitoring is
critical to promote establishment of populations of translocated animals. We herein present a novel method of active
burrow counts, measured over time, as a proxy for monitoring trends in population size of translocated lizards. We
conducted ground surveys of the translocation site during the hot season to achieve a complete count of lizard burrows
within a 5.95 km2 fenced release area within NEOM’s Mneifa Wildlife Reserve (MWR). We found that 74% of
the 244 burrows that we detected were active and made 31 direct observations of adult animals. Thus, we detected
strong evidence of an established population one year after translocation. The active-burrow count system that we
developed is not unique to burrowing lizards and is suitable for all subterranean species of conservation concern. Novel
techniques such as this will be essential to quantifying the establishment of post-translocation populations of species of
conservation concern throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.