Scientometric analysis of lizard (Reptilia: Squamata) communities studies and the habitat attributes

The study of lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) is of great interest for researchers all around the world, primarily because they have been good models for biological studies (morphology, ecology, behavior, physiology, among others). This study focused on a quantitative analysis of scientific publications analyzing lizard communities and their habitats characteristics. An electronic search was conducted on lizard communities studies and the habitat attributes considered in their study. The research was based on publications (1980 to 2015) registered in ISI Web of Knowledge database worldwide. A total of 47 papers from this period were found. Most of them (68%) were made with data obtained from the tropical regions of the planet. Brazil was the country that concentrated the largest number of papers (15 out of 47). Results showed that 55.31% of papers were published in five journals. Species richness and abundance were the most common structural attributes of the lizard community cited in the papers (51.06%). The tree layer was the most cited variable for habitat characterization (19 out of 47 papers). In general, four statistical methods were the most frequently used in the papers: Analysis of Variance (Anova) (16 papers), Correlation Analysis (14 papers), Non-metric multidimensional scaling (11 papers), and Regression Analysis (10 papers). The results found are discussed.