Lizard community structure and spatial resource use along a forest-savannah-urban habitat gradient in the Dahomey Gap (West Africa)

Luiselli, Luca; Dendi, Daniele; Petrozzi, Fabio; Segniagbeto, Gabriel Hoinsoudé

doi:10.1007/s11252-022-01215-w

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Although these patterns were hypothesized a priori, as far as we are concerned it is the first time that they have been demonstrated on small mammalian communities of habitat gradients of the Dahomey Gap. A virtually identical pattern has been highlighted in lizard com-munities along the suburb-savannah-forest gradient of the Dahomey Gap (Luiselli et al 2022), and it is therefore plausible that it is repeated almost constantly with other vertebrate and invertebrate taxa. Indeed, rodent species composition was significantly correlated with grass height, tree density, and ground cover in another South African savannah area (Delcros et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…(ii) Are there any differences in the assemblage characteristics and community metrics (dominance, evenness) of rodents in the different habitat types of this savannah area? We hypothesize that there should be a gradient effect between the various habitats: forest spots should be richer in terms of number of sympatric species and with communities more equiverse than savannah and anthropized/cultivated sites (e.g., Delcros et al 2015;Luiselli et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity Patterns of Rodent Assemblages in the North of Fazao-Malfakassa National Park (Togo)

Luiselli,

HOUNMAVO,

Assou

et al. 2023

EuroJEcol

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The rodent assemblages were studied in different habitat types in the northern part of the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park located in central-western Togo, West Africa. A suite of different methods was applied, including face-by-face interviews with local hunters, live trapping along standardized transects and opportunistic observations. A total of 20 rodent species were recorded based on the surveys carried out in villages, including 6 families and 17 genera. There was a clear gradient pattern in the univariate diversity indices by habitat type: Dominance index was remarkably higher in Urban/plantation than in the other habitat types whereas Evenness index was remarkably higher in gallery forest than in the other habitat types. According to a Canonical Correspondence Analysis, three “ecological groups” (= guilds) of species were formed: a group from wooded habitats (savannahs and semiforests), a group from grassy savannah and a group from urban/plantation habitats. Null model analyses revealed that species tend to non-randomly congregate in some habitat types and/or localities. The ecological implications of these data were presented.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity Patterns of Rodent Assemblages in the North of Fazao-Malfakassa National Park (Togo)

Luiselli,

HOUNMAVO,

Assou

et al. 2023

EuroJEcol

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“…Togo, which is, with Benin, the core country of the Dahomey Gap, is an important area for biodiversity studies because the evolutionary biogeographic origin of its fauna is still quantitatively unknown, despite the fact that several comprehensive checklists of its vertebrate fauna are available (Leaché et al 2006;Segniagbeto et al 2014aSegniagbeto et al , 2014bSegniagbeto et al , 2015, as well as more quantitative studies on their ecological communities (e.g., Luiselli et al 2022). Togo is positioned roughly in the center of the Dahomey Gap.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeographic analysis of the composition of the mammalian fauna of Togo (West Africa)

2023

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The Dahomey Gap in West Africa is a human-derived savannah-like vegetation zone interspersed by patches of moist forest, with large rainforest blocks at both West (Upper Guinean Forest) and East (Lower Guinean Forest) of its limits. Togo is a tiny country situated in the middle of the Dahomey Gap. In this paper, a biogeographic analysis of the composition of the mammalian fauna of Togo is presented, by classifying each species on the basis of five distinct ecological distribution patterns. The greatest proportion of species were Pan-African (88.0%). Excluding the Pan-African species from the analysis, the mammalian fauna appeared to be affiliated similarly to both Upper Guinean and Lower Guinean Forest blocks. Only three endemic species were observed, all of them being rodents: Cryptomys zechi (Batyergidae), Funisciurus substriatus (Sciuridae), and Leimacomys buettneri (Muridae). Considering only the multispecies genera, the great majority did not show any barrier effect by the Dahomey Gap on their own species, as all of them did occur on both sides of Togo. A barrier effect by the Dahomey Gap was uncovered in 8 genera; overall, the Dahomey Gap apparently showed a barrier effect on 28.6% of the multispecies genera. It is emphasized that the full understanding of the role of the Dahomey Gap as a biogeographic barrier and of its island forests as centers of endemism is impeded by the lack of biogeographic reviews and meta-analyses on the composition of faunal and floral groups of the entire region.

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“…

Rainbow lizards (Agama agama) are among the most common lizard species in urban and suburban areas in West Africa, including Togo (Luiselli et al, 2022). They are also well known for their ecological plasticity in both thermal ecology (Amadi et al, 2020) and foraging strategy.

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confidence: 99%

Opportunistic foraging strategy of rainbow lizards at a seaside resort in Togo

Dendi

Segniagbeto

Meek³

et al. 2023

Afr J Ecol

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Rainbow lizards (Agama agama) are common in suburban areas throughout Africa, and have an opportunistic foraging strategy, with arthropods being the main prey source. In a coastal resort in southern Togo, West Africa, several individuals in a population were observed while feeding regularly upon non‐natural human‐made food (pizza) and showing a clear preference for a given type of food versus others that were offered (‘four cheeses’ being the preferred one). The fact that all monitored individuals fed upon a same type of pizza suggests that they may have some chemical cues attracting them.

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Lizard community structure and spatial resource use along a forest-savannah-urban habitat gradient in the Dahomey Gap (West Africa)

Cited by 4 publications

References 62 publications

Diversity Patterns of Rodent Assemblages in the North of Fazao-Malfakassa National Park (Togo)

Diversity Patterns of Rodent Assemblages in the North of Fazao-Malfakassa National Park (Togo)

Biogeographic analysis of the composition of the mammalian fauna of Togo (West Africa)

Opportunistic foraging strategy of rainbow lizards at a seaside resort in Togo

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