Cargando…

Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient

Mountains imply enormous environmental variation, with alpine habitats entailing harsh environments, especially for ectotherms such as lizards. This environmental variability also may imply variation in prey availability. However, little is known about how lizard trophic ecology varies with elevatio...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio, Melero, Elena, Reguera, Senda, Zamora-Camacho, Francisco J, Álvarez-Benito, Inés
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6178790/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30323839
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zox077
_version_ 1783361991705886720
author Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio
Melero, Elena
Reguera, Senda
Zamora-Camacho, Francisco J
Álvarez-Benito, Inés
author_facet Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio
Melero, Elena
Reguera, Senda
Zamora-Camacho, Francisco J
Álvarez-Benito, Inés
author_sort Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio
collection PubMed
description Mountains imply enormous environmental variation, with alpine habitats entailing harsh environments, especially for ectotherms such as lizards. This environmental variability also may imply variation in prey availability. However, little is known about how lizard trophic ecology varies with elevation. In this study, we analyze diet, prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lacertid lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2,200-m elevational gradient in the Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). The analysis of fecal samples has shown that Orthoptera, Formicidae, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Araneae are the main prey, although, according to their abundance in pitfall traps, Formicidae and Coleoptera are rejected by the lizard whereas Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Araneae are preferred. Prey abundance and diversity increase with elevation and diet subtly varies along with the elevational gradient. The consumption of Coleoptera increases with elevation probably as a consequence of the lizard foraging more in open areas while basking. The electivity for Araneae increases with elevation. Araneae are rejected in the lowlands—where they are relatively abundant—whereas, at high elevation, this lizard positively selects them, despite they being less abundant. The lizard trophic niche width expands with elevation due to concomitant greater prey diversity and hence this lizard feeds on more prey types in highlands. Although no sex difference in diet has been found, the trophic niche is broader in females than males. As a whole, alpine lizards show a trophic niche similar to that found at lower elevations, suggesting that P. algirus is well adapted to the harsh environment found in alpine areas.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-6178790
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2018
publisher Oxford University Press
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-61787902018-10-15 Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio Melero, Elena Reguera, Senda Zamora-Camacho, Francisco J Álvarez-Benito, Inés Curr Zool Articles Mountains imply enormous environmental variation, with alpine habitats entailing harsh environments, especially for ectotherms such as lizards. This environmental variability also may imply variation in prey availability. However, little is known about how lizard trophic ecology varies with elevation. In this study, we analyze diet, prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lacertid lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2,200-m elevational gradient in the Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). The analysis of fecal samples has shown that Orthoptera, Formicidae, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Araneae are the main prey, although, according to their abundance in pitfall traps, Formicidae and Coleoptera are rejected by the lizard whereas Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Araneae are preferred. Prey abundance and diversity increase with elevation and diet subtly varies along with the elevational gradient. The consumption of Coleoptera increases with elevation probably as a consequence of the lizard foraging more in open areas while basking. The electivity for Araneae increases with elevation. Araneae are rejected in the lowlands—where they are relatively abundant—whereas, at high elevation, this lizard positively selects them, despite they being less abundant. The lizard trophic niche width expands with elevation due to concomitant greater prey diversity and hence this lizard feeds on more prey types in highlands. Although no sex difference in diet has been found, the trophic niche is broader in females than males. As a whole, alpine lizards show a trophic niche similar to that found at lower elevations, suggesting that P. algirus is well adapted to the harsh environment found in alpine areas. Oxford University Press 2018-10 2017-12-14 /pmc/articles/PMC6178790/ /pubmed/30323839 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zox077 Text en © The Author(s) (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
spellingShingle Articles
Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio
Melero, Elena
Reguera, Senda
Zamora-Camacho, Francisco J
Álvarez-Benito, Inés
Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient
title Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient
title_full Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient
title_fullStr Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient
title_full_unstemmed Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient
title_short Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient
title_sort prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient
topic Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6178790/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30323839
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zox077
work_keys_str_mv AT morenoruedagregorio preyavailabilitypreyselectionandtrophicnichewidthinthelizardpsammodromusalgirusalonganelevationalgradient
AT meleroelena preyavailabilitypreyselectionandtrophicnichewidthinthelizardpsammodromusalgirusalonganelevationalgradient
AT reguerasenda preyavailabilitypreyselectionandtrophicnichewidthinthelizardpsammodromusalgirusalonganelevationalgradient
AT zamoracamachofranciscoj preyavailabilitypreyselectionandtrophicnichewidthinthelizardpsammodromusalgirusalonganelevationalgradient
AT alvarezbenitoines preyavailabilitypreyselectionandtrophicnichewidthinthelizardpsammodromusalgirusalonganelevationalgradient