Diet and daily activity patterns of the lacertid lizardPsammodromus algirus(Sauria: Lacertidae) in a semi-arid Mediterranean region

Abstract

The large psammodromus, Psammodromus algirus, is one of the most widespread Mediterranean lacertid lizards; unfortunately, its ecology in North Africa remains understudied. In this study, we present detailed data on trophic ecology, daily activity patterns during the breeding season, and the maximum activity period of this lizard in a semi-arid environment at Belezma National Park (Batna, northeast Algeria). Feeding data were collected using stomach flushing, and daily activity patterns were analyzed by surveying standardized transects. Analysis of the contents of 21 stomachs revealed 238 prey items of 74 different taxa classified into five classes, 18 orders, 50 families, and 71 different genera. The diet was highly diverse and primarily consisted of arthropods. Insects were the predominant food comprising 85% of all prey, followed by arachnids (13%). Regarding temporal variation in diet, prey-species richness did not vary noticeably between months; however, the number of individuals within prey categories did. The size of prey consumed varied over a very broad spectrum and followed a logarithmic distribution, but did not vary between months. Concerning daily activity, lizards exhibited a bimodal activity pattern. Overall, compared to littoral and European populations studied in other works, diet differed slightly and daily activity was remarkably reduced in the morning and postponed in the afternoon.

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

“…For example, Diptera (minority prey in the Sierra Nevada) was an important part of the diet in several studies ( Pérez-Quintero and Rubio-García 1997 ; Rouag et al. 2007 ; Bouam et al. 2016 ), and Orthoptera proved to be the most important prey in the Sierra Nevada but was not relevant in several other studies ( Table 7 ).…”

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Biogeography, inventory and new data on reptiles of M’sila region, Algeria

“…The MR habitat is mainly a favourable habitat for Psam-modromus algirus, one of the most common Mediterranean Lacertids (Bouam et al 2016). In Algeria, this reptile is reported much more in the mountains with Mediterranean and Saharan climatic influences (Djurdjura and Belezma), at more than 1000 m from sea level (Mamou and Marniche 2016;Bouam et al 2016). It reaches 2500 m in the Moroccan Atlas and only 1500 m in the Pyrenees.…”

Testing hypotheses of habitat use and temporal activity in relation to body plan in a Mediterranean lizard community

“…In Mediterranean environments, the high ambient temperatures (> 35°C) typical during summers may represent a constraint for reptile above-ground activities (Carretero and Llorente 1995;Rouag et al 2007;Zamora-Camacho et al 2013;Bouam et al 2016). As a fourth hypothesis we predicted that those species inhabiting open sunny habitats would exhibit more seasonally variable activity patterns, with peaks during the early spring months, and scarce above-ground activity in the summer (Burke and Ner 2005).…”