ИСТИНА

Though lizards often suggested to be less intelligent than mammals and birds, they demonstrate great variety of social systems: from relatively simple without any prolonged relations to complex structures, characterized by personalized relations and many-year bonding (O’connor, Shine, 2003).Thus, other factors besides intelligence define social complexity. Lifespan must important one, because unstable community of short-lived species develops every time from the beginning, without any succession between generations and characterizes by hierarchy (Wilkinson, 2003) – main characteristics of the primary stage of any self-organizing system (Maturana, Varela, 1928). For our study we chose small (55–60 mm), diurnal, fast-growing and short-lived (1–1.5 yr) species (Galoyan, Geissler, 2013) of skink Sphenomorphus maculatus. Study held in Cat Tien National park, Southern Vietnam. The sample site with the size of about 1000 m2was chosen and 14 individuals were individually marked and observed in 2008 and 25 in 2009. One individual was registered in both years. Observations under marked animals revealed that home ranges (107.7±58.02 m2 in males and 78.9±60.99 m2 in females) of residential animals (registered during whole observation period) overlapped broadly and they used same activity centers. No territorial behaviour, but linear hierarchy was observed. Agonistic contacts (90.4%) prevailed; both intra and intersexual aggression regularly observed and social status (David’s score) of females was lower than in males (U=26, N = 21, p <0.05); residents had higher social status. Rude aggressive premating priming took place. Only residents were observed to mate, however, we found no direct links between social status and sexual success of individuals. Though some small lizards demonstrate complex many-year social patterns (Tsellarius, 2005), studied community has relatively low level of social complexity and high degree of hierarchy steepness due to low lifespan.