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  • Study site and experimental plots: We conducted the field study during May–June 2009 at “Alto del Telégrafo” (Guadarrama Mountains, Madrid Prov., central Spain) at an elevation of 1,900 m. Granite rock boulders and screes interspersed with shrubs (Cytisus oromediterraneus and Juniperus communis) predominated at the study site, together with meadows of Festuca and other grasses [46], [47]. In this area, lizards are active from late April to early October, mating in May–June and producing a single clutch in July [43]. We performed the field experiment on a large mountain slope oriented to the south where I. cyreni lizards were abundant, and where the habitat and microclimate were homogeneous. In this zone, we selected 12 rectangular areas (15×6 m each) that were separated by at least 25 m. Inside each area, we used color flags to mark two plots (2×2 m each), the centers of which were separated by 7 m. Each plot was selected to include a high cover of large rocks and some bushes, like the microhabitats selected by lizards [46], [47]. We performed the experimental supplementations within these plots. One of the plots within each area was randomly assigned to the experimental treatment and the other was assigned to the control treatment. These areas were not switched between days (i.e., the same plots designated as experimental in the first day were used as experimental during all observations). We preferred this approach instead of randomizing to allow that lizards could move through both areas and finally select to settle in some areas, thus, allowing a cumulative effect through time. We considered that it was very unlikely that lizards would switch frequently between territories once they had been established, which would confound the results if we changed the location of the treatments every day. We recorded microhabitat structure to ensure that experimental and control plots were homogeneous. We noted the presence and types of vegetation and different substrates at different heights on four 1 m transects [46], [47]. Results of General Linear Models (GLMs) showed that there were no significant differences for any habitat variable (dependent variables) between the control and experimental plots (paired within each area as a repeated measures factor) (0.14
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