Trophic ecology and foraging behavior of Tropidurus hispidus and Tropidurus semitaeniatus (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in a caatinga area of northeastern Brazil

Ribeiro, Leonardo Barros; Freire, Eliza María Xavier

doi:10.1590/s0073-47212011000200010

Cited by 34 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The results provide evidence that urbanization has a positive effect on the density of lagartixas. The peri‐urban and medium urbanized areas had the highest density of lagartixas, whereas the lowest densities were in the rural sites, despite a higher abundance of ants (see Figure d), an important food resource for lagartixas (Albuquerque et al, ; Ribeiro & Freire, ). The density of lagartixas in the highly urbanized site, even though higher, did not differ significantly from the rural areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metropolitan lizards? Urbanization gradient and the density of lagartixas (Tropidurus hispidus) in a tropical city

Andrade

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Urbanization, with its cohort of environmental stressors, has a dramatic effect on wildlife, causing loss of biodiversity and decline in population abundance customarily associated with increasing levels of impervious surface and fragmentation of native habitats. Some studies suggest that faunal species from open habitats, and with higher abundance in natural environments, seem more likely to tolerate and live in urban environments. Here I evaluate how the level of urbanization affects lagartixas (Tropidurus hispidus) one of the most common lizards found in open vegetation ecosystems in NE Brazil. I surveyed a total of 47 transects across sites that differed in proportion of impervious surface (high, mild, peri‐urban, and rural). I also collected specific biotic (herbaceous cover, tree, and arthropod abundance) and abiotic (amount of shelters and impervious surfaces) factors that could affect lagartixas abundance. Ants were the most common arthropod both in the rural and urban environment. Lagartixas thrive in urban environments, and trees and shelter were key predictors of their abundance. Lagartixas show a clear association with use of artificial structures. The low densities of lagartixas in rural areas and higher density in urbanized areas suggest that they colonized urban areas due to the hard surfaces and they probably are not exploiting a novel habitat, but somewhat responding to conditions resembling those in which they evolved. Finally, lagartixas are extremely common in tropical cities, they have a suite of features that are associated with selective pressures in cities and they might play a key functional role in urban ecosystems making this lizard an excellent system for the study of ecology and adaptation to the urban environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metropolitan lizards? Urbanization gradient and the density of lagartixas (Tropidurus hispidus) in a tropical city

Andrade

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Lizards depend on external sources to regulate body temperatures (Bogert 1949, Huey andSlatkin 1976). Besides being affected by extrinsic factors such as sunlight (Patterson andDavies 1978, Stevenson 1985), intensity of winds (Maia-Carneiro et al 2012, 2017, and daily and seasonal changes of environmental temperatures (Peloso et al 2008, Ribeiro and Freire 2010, body temperatures (T b ) of lizards are influenced by intrinsic factors such as ontogeny and body size (Stevenson 1985, Magnusson 1993, Maia-Carneiro and Rocha 2013a. Furthermore, T b is a function of evolutionary relationships-i.e., closely related species or different populations of a given species tend to have similar T b , despite environmental differences (Bogert 1949, Andrews 1998, Sales et al 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral adaptations in Ameivula ocellifera (Squamata: Teiidae) in response to thermal environmental changes

Sales

Freire

2019

Phyllomedusa

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Behavioral adaptations in Ameivula ocellifera (Squamata: Teiidae) in response to thermal environmental changes. Lizards rely on external sources to regulate body temperature, but in many species, it is not known whether lizards are able to change their thermoregulatory behaviors in response to variations in thermal environments. The seasonal thermal ecology of three populations of the Brazilian whiptail lizard, Ameivula ocellifera, in northeastern Brazil (two Caatinga sites and one in the Atlantic Forest) was investigated. The relationships between body temperature and microhabitat temperatures (substrate and air), and between body temperature and thermoregulatory behavior (i.e., time of exposure to sunlight classes and time spent basking) were explored. The average body temperatures of the lizards were 38–39°C; these neither varied seasonally nor among populations. Substrate and air temperatures are lower at the natural Caatinga site, and lizards in there spent less time in the shade and more time exposed to the sun. Microhabitat temperatures vary seasonally in natural Caatinga; they are lower in the rainy season, when lizards spent more time exposed to sun and less time in fltered sun. Lizard body temperatures exceeded microhabitat temperatures in the rainy season in all three populations; however, they did not exceed substrate temperature in the dry season. In each of the populations, lizards with low body temperatures during cloudy conditions spent more time basking. Thus, A. ocellifera adjusts its body temperature behaviorally to compensate for seasonal changes in environmental temperatures, as well as geographic thermal variation throughout its range.

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“…Tropidurus hispidus is the largest species of the genus, and is classified as a "sit-and-wait" forager (Colli & Paiva 1997;Santana et al 2011a;Santana et al 2014;Gomes et al 2015) that feeds mainly on insects (Vitt et al 1996;Gomes et al 2015). This lizard is oviparous, has a habitat generalist, and can be observed mainly in the ground on rocky surfaces or sandy soils, on the borders of forests, and on tree trunks (Ribeiro & Freire 2010;Santana et al 2011a,b;Gomes et al 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

Predation of the lizard Tropidurus hispidus (Squamata, Tropiduridae) by the vine snake Oxybelis aeneus (Serpentes: Colubridae) in the Caatinga, northeastern Brazil

Santana

Teixeira

2020

PECEN

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A predação é um fator ecológico que regula a vida dos lagartos, entretanto, sua visualização na natureza é esporádica. Quando os predadores são serpentes crípticas, temos registros ainda mais escassos. Aqui nós apresentamos a predação de Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825) pela serpente bicuda Oxybelis aeneus (Wagler in Spix, 1824). Alguns estudos já identificaram lagartos do gênero Tropidurus Wied-Neuwied, 1824 como presas de O. aeneus. No entanto, este registro fornece informações que contemplam importantes aspectos da história natural das duas espécies, contribuindo para a compreensão de suas ecologias.Palavras chave: Ecologia alimentar, dieta, Paraíba, Saurofagia.

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Trophic ecology and foraging behavior of Tropidurus hispidus and Tropidurus semitaeniatus (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in a caatinga area of northeastern Brazil

Cited by 34 publications

References 41 publications

Metropolitan lizards? Urbanization gradient and the density of lagartixas (Tropidurus hispidus) in a tropical city

Metropolitan lizards? Urbanization gradient and the density of lagartixas (Tropidurus hispidus) in a tropical city

Behavioral adaptations in Ameivula ocellifera (Squamata: Teiidae) in response to thermal environmental changes

Predation of the lizard <em>Tropidurus hispidus</em> (Squamata, Tropiduridae) by the vine snake <em>Oxybelis aeneus</em> (Serpentes: Colubridae) in the Caatinga, northeastern Brazil

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