Phylogenetic relationships of the  Chalcides  skink species from the Chafarinas Islands with those from mainland North Africa

Martı́n, José; Mateus, Claudia; García‐Roa, Roberto; Ortega, Jesús; Carranza, Salvador

doi:10.1016/j.bse.2017.02.007

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Spatial niche occupancy of C. parallelus is very similar to the pattern found for Ocellated skinks. C. ocellatus and C. parallelus are closely related species (Carranza et al, 2008;Martín et al, 2017), and they may be very similar in most aspects of their ecology such as diet and thermal preferences, which would explain their similar use of microhabitats. C. ocellatus is larger and more robust than C. parallelus, and when both species co-occur probably C. ocellatus compete successfully for resources forcing C. parallelus to use microhabitats not used by C. ocellatus.…”

Section: Chalcides Parallelusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the 25 species of scincid lizards of the genus Chalcides inhabiting the Mediterranean region, two related species co-occur in sympatry in one island at the Chafarinas archipelago (NW Africa): Chalcides ocellatus and C. parallelus (Carranza et al, 2008;Civantos et al, 2013;García-Roa et al, 2014;Martín et al, 2017). C. ocellatus is the most widespread species and occurs in a broad range of habitats across a large however it is thought to be rare along its narrow coastal range (Geniez et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…C. ocellatus is the most widespread species and occurs in a broad range of habitats across a large however it is thought to be rare along its narrow coastal range (Geniez et al, 2008). The island and mainland populations are highly related genetically (Martín et al, 2017), probably due to the flow of individuals travelling on floating items over the sea surface between the island and the coastal populations (Thiel and Gutow, 2005). The Chafarinas' skink is considered as Endangered by the IUCN (Geniez et al, 2008), and it is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Niche occupancy of two (congeneric) skinks in an islands environment

2020

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Abstract Among the scincid lizards inhabiting the Mediterranean region, the Ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus) and the little-known and endangered Chafarinas’ skink (Chalcides parallelus) co-occur in sympatry at the Chafarinas Islands (NW Africa). Although both species are present in the archipelago, C. ocellatus is spread in the three islands, but C. parallelus is present only in one island. What factors influence this distribution, and whether these two species show evidence for syntopy is unknown. In this study, we investigated spatial niche occupancy at the level of microhabitat of both skinks at the Chafarinas Islands. We tested for microhabitat differences between islands and then, we tested the null hypothesis of no differences between microhabitat used by each of these skink species and a set of locations chosen at random from the general habitat. Results showed that the distribution and abundance of available microhabitats were different among islands, thus each island has different spatial niches that may be important in distinguishing the areas occupied by these skinks. Results also revealed that C. ocellatus did not use available microhabitats at random, but preferentially selected particular microhabitats. However, C. parallelus used microhabitats according to their availability, although it showed some aspects of habitat selection similar to C. ocellatus. Our results showed that the inclusion of detailed microhabitat descriptors could be useful for understanding patterns of niche occupancy by these skinks species. Furthermore, to our knowledge this is the first study documenting the spatial niche selection of C. parallelus and provides novel ecological information that may be of major importance to develop management strategies that will help to conserve this endangered species.

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Section: Chalcides Parallelusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Niche occupancy of two (congeneric) skinks in an islands environment

2020

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Trade and stowaways: molecular evidence for human-mediated translocation of eastern skinks into the western Mediterranean

et al. 2020

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Human movements in the regions surrounding the Mediterranean Sea have caused a great impact in the composition of terrestrial fauna due to the introductions of several allochthonous species, intentionally or not. Reptiles are one of the groups where this anthropic impact is most evident, owing to the extensive intra-Mediterranean dispersals of recent chronologies. Chalcides ocellatus is a widespread skink with a natural distribution that covers almost the entire Mediterranean Basin. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain its origin: natural dispersions and human translocations. Previous molecular data suggest the occurrence of a recent dispersal phenomenon across the Mediterranean Sea. In this study we present the first record of this species in the Iberian Peninsula, in Serra del Molar (South-east Spain). We combined molecular analyses and archaeological records to study the origin of this population. The molecular results indicate that the population is phylogenetically closely related to specimens from north-eastern Egypt and southern Red Sea. We suggest that the species arrived at the Iberian Peninsula most likely through human-mediated dispersal by using the trade routes. Between the Iron to Middle Ages, even now, the region surrounding Serra del Molar has been the destination of human groups and commercial goods of Egyptian origins, in which Chalcides ocellatus could have arrived as stowaways. The regional geomorphological evolution would have restricted its expansion out of Serra del Molar. These findings provide new data about the impact of human movements on faunal introductions and present new information relating to mechanisms of long-distance translocations.

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Phylogenetic relationships of the Chalcides skink species from the Chafarinas Islands with those from mainland North Africa

Cited by 2 publications

References 20 publications

Niche occupancy of two (congeneric) skinks in an islands environment

Niche occupancy of two (congeneric) skinks in an islands environment

Trade and stowaways: molecular evidence for human-mediated translocation of eastern skinks into the western Mediterranean

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