Behavioral shifts with urbanization may facilitate biological invasion of a widespread lizard

Stroud, James T.; Colom, Marie; Ferrer, Pedro Eitz; Palermo, Nicholas; Vargas, V Mario; Cavallini, Martina; Lopez, Jesus; Jones, Ian M.

doi:10.1007/s11252-019-0831-9

Cited by 23 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Of course, our study examines only one potential factor related to ecological invasion success in structurally complex natural environments (locomotor performance) and there are several other non-mutually exclusive factors that can affect this [ 43 – 45 ]. Urban and natural areas can differ drastically in their distribution of prey, competitors, and predators [ 22 , 43 ]; urban areas, for example, generally attract greater amounts of insect prey (the major diet of these geckos) than more natural areas [ 7 , 22 , 27 ]. Urban and natural environments also vary in ambient conditions; urban habitats tend to be warmer and more arid than forested ones [ 45 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home-field advantage: native gecko exhibits improved exertion capacity and locomotor ability in structurally complex environments relative to its invasive counterpart

et al. 2020

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Background: Invasive species are of substantial concern because they may threaten ecosystem stability and biodiversity worldwide. Not surprisingly, studies examining the drivers of biological invasion have increased in number over the past few decades in an effort to curtail invasive species success by way of informing management decisions. The common house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, has successfully invaded the Pacific islands where it appears to thrive in and dominate non-natural habitats offering high food availability (i.e., well-lit human dwellings) compared to native geckos. Previous work demonstrated that H. frenatus can outperform the native gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris, in terms of maximal sprint speed on relatively simple planar surfaces (e.g., building walls). Lepidodactylus lugubris and other native geckos, however, may have superior locomotor performance in threedimensional, structurally complex habitats. Results: Here we compared the locomotor behaviour and exertion capacity of the native gecko, Gehyra oceanica, and the invasive gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, on the island of Mo'orea, French Polynesia, on fabricated structures simulating structurally complex substrates. We found that the native gecko exhibits improved locomotor performance compared to the invasive gecko on structurally complex substrates. We also completed encounter surveys to document free-ranging habitat use and behaviour of these two species. We discovered that H. frenatus were more common in natural habitats than previously observed and used similar substrates as G. oceanica, although G. oceanica appeared to use substrates with greater perch heights (i.e., trees).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home-field advantage: native gecko exhibits improved exertion capacity and locomotor ability in structurally complex environments relative to its invasive counterpart

et al. 2020

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“…Although the role of behavior, and display behavior in particular, in mediating parasite infection probability in green anoles is unknown, one possibility is that the overall high display rate of males in this population, coupled with the high male density (Bloch and Irschick, 2006), decreased wariness (Irschick et al, 2005a), and openness of the patchy TU green anole habitat collectively contributed to high male conspicuousness at the TU location, and thus increased male vulnerability to parasites. Green anole males with larger dewlaps also display more frequently (Johnson et al, 2011), which likely contributes further to their conspicuousness, as might the openness of the TU habitat; for example, Stroud et al (2019) found that A. sagrei lizards in open urban environments displayed twice as frequently as those in natural environments. In addition to behavior increasing the risk of infection or parasitism, infection status might also alter behavior.…”

Section: Display Behavior Population Density and Parasitismmentioning

confidence: 99%

It’s Not Easy Being Green: Behavior, Morphology, and Population Structure in Urban and Natural Populations of Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) Lizards

Lailvaux

2020

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Selection on behavior, signaling, and morphology can be strongly affected by variation in habitat type. Consequently, populations inhabiting different environments can exhibit divergent phenotypes as a result of either habitat-specific selection or plasticity. Urban habitats in particular represent different challenges for organisms adapted for rural environments, including disparate complements of predators and competitors, resource availability, and habitat complexity. In this paper, I review work aimed at understanding the different selective challenges experienced by rural and urban populations of green anole lizards, primarily those in southeastern Louisiana. I also describe a long-term mark-recapture experiment on an urban population of green anoles in New Orleans, and consider how sex ratios and population density changes over time. Collectively, this work shows that urban and rural populations of green anoles diverge markedly in behavior and morphology driven both by differences in habitat and the presence of competitors in the urban environment; however, it also shows that the effects of urbanization on the ecology and evolution of green anoles are understudied.

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“…These data demonstrate the potential ecological importance of various thermal parameters. For example, A. sagrei is a highly successful urban colonizer (Hulbert, Hall, Mitchell, & Warner, 2020; Stroud et al, 2019), which may result from relatively warm urban nest temperatures which enhance embryonic development (Tiatragul et al, 2017). In our example nest (Figure 3b), the mean temperature (29.9°C) is close to T opt , but below ECHT, and peak nest temperatures (mean = 36.6°C) do not reach EAHT.…”

Section: Measuring Heat Tolerance Of Reptile Embryosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat tolerance of reptile embryos: Current knowledge, methodological considerations, and future directions

Hall

Sun

2020

J Exp Zool Pt A

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Aspects of global change result in warming temperatures that threaten biodiversity across the planet. Eggs of non‐avian, oviparous reptiles (henceforth “reptiles”) are particularly vulnerable to warming due to a lack of parental care during incubation and limited ability to behaviorally thermoregulate. Because warming temperatures will cause increases in both mean and variance of nest temperatures, it is crucial to consider embryo responses to both chronic and acute heat stress. Although many studies have considered embryo survival across constant incubation temperatures (i.e., chronic stress) and in response to brief exposure to extreme temperatures (i.e., acute stress), there are no standard metrics or terminology for determining heat stress of embryos. This impedes comparisons across studies and species and hinders our ability to predict how species will respond to global change. In this review, we compare various methods that have been used to assess embryonic heat tolerance in reptiles and provide new terminology and metrics for quantifying embryo responses to both chronic and acute heat stress. We apply these recommendations to data from the literature to assess chronic heat tolerance in 16 squamates, 16 turtles, five crocodilians, and the tuatara and acute heat tolerance for nine squamates and one turtle. Our results indicate that there is relatively large variation in chronic and acute heat tolerance across species, and we outline directions for future research, calling for more studies that assess embryo responses to acute thermal stress, integrate embryo responses to chronic and acute temperatures in predictive models, and identify mechanisms that determine heat tolerance.

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Behavioral shifts with urbanization may facilitate biological invasion of a widespread lizard

Cited by 23 publications

References 52 publications

Home-field advantage: native gecko exhibits improved exertion capacity and locomotor ability in structurally complex environments relative to its invasive counterpart

Home-field advantage: native gecko exhibits improved exertion capacity and locomotor ability in structurally complex environments relative to its invasive counterpart

It’s Not Easy Being Green: Behavior, Morphology, and Population Structure in Urban and Natural Populations of Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) Lizards

Heat tolerance of reptile embryos: Current knowledge, methodological considerations, and future directions

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