Seasonal variation of prey consumption by Liolaemus barbarae, a highland lizard endemic to Northern Chile

Cortés, Arturo; Carretero, Miguel Á.; Mella, Jorge; Tirado, Carlos

doi:10.1163/157075610x523288

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Clearly, both OTU and family richness vary across populations likely in response to the distinct faunistic and floristic characteristics of these localities (Figure 1; [58]), which in turn determine the prey items available that can potentially be consumed by T. dugesii. Nevertheless, previous studies on both herbivorous and omnivorous lizards have shown the contribution of prey selection to diet composition, mostly according to nutrient requirements and avoidance of plant toxic compounds (e.g., [7,[86][87][88]). Water content was also reported as the most relevant factor for prey selection in the herbivorous lizard Liolaemus lutzae [89].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary Variation Is Driven by Landscape Heterogeneity in an Insular Omnivorous Endemic Lizard, Revealed by DNA Metabarcoding

2022

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Living on islands entails numerous challenges for animals, among which population density approaching the carrying capacity of trophic resources stands out. To overcome this limitation, many insular lizards can supplement their insectivorous diet with increasing portions of plant material. The Madeira wall lizard, Teira dugesii, is a medium-sized lacertid, endemic to the Madeira and Selvagens archipelagos. As common in this family, adults are sexually dimorphic with males being bigger than females. Previous dietary studies on morphological scatology identified a higher proportion of plant over animal prey items, changing according to the location and sex. Here, we used DNA metabarcoding to examine the diet of this lizard species quantifying it at a higher taxonomical resolution and enhancing the detection of soft-body prey that often go undetected in morphology-based studies. In a sample of 151 faecal samples from eight populations including different habitats and altitudes in Madeira, we identified 289 prey items belonging to eight animal and three plant Classes, encompassing 58 distinct orders and 140 families. Of these, 63 were identified up to the species level. The results support a strong trend towards herbivory in this species with plants representing almost 74% of the diet occurrences in contrast to the 26% of animal prey. Remarkably, the plant fraction of the diet remained stable across localities but varied with size and mass in males. As males grew bigger and heavier, they significantly increased their plant matter intake. Likely, larger bodies and abdomens allowed allocating longer and more complex digestive tracts harbouring intestinal flora to better decompose plant organic compounds. This allowed heavier animals to have a richer diet regime. However, diet richness and composition were not affected by either sex or size, while the locality had a significant effect on both diet components likely in response to local variation in prey availability. By including an increasing plant fraction into a primarily insectivorous diet, this insular lizard has not only enlarged its trophic niche but is also able to exploit more efficiently the highly variable resources provided by insular environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary Variation Is Driven by Landscape Heterogeneity in an Insular Omnivorous Endemic Lizard, Revealed by DNA Metabarcoding

2022

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“…también una presa fundamental para L. annectens. Esto coincide con otras especies de Liolaemus, como lo observado por Llanqui et al (2022) en la dieta de L. etheridgei en dos bosques de queñua (Polylepis rugulosa) en la zona andina de Arequipa, así como también en L. barbareae en Chile (Mella et al 2010). El mayor consumo de Lygaeidae podría estar asociado con su abundancia y dominancia en el hábitat, lo que la convierte en una presa común y de fácil captura (Llanqui et al 2022).…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

“…El mayor consumo de Lygaeidae podría estar asociado con su abundancia y dominancia en el hábitat, lo que la convierte en una presa común y de fácil captura (Llanqui et al 2022). También es posible que el mayor consumo de Lygaeidae se relacione con el tipo de alimentación del insecto (semillas y savia) y su comportamiento gregario, que reducirían los costos de búsqueda de presas (Mella et al 2010, Burdfield-Steel y Shuker 2014.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

“…Así también, se registró un mayor consumo de material vegetal en época húmeda para ambas especies. Estos cambios podrían deberse a la variación de condiciones climáticas que influyen sobre la abundancia y disponibilidad de recursos especialmente en los lugares con cambio estacional marcado como las zonas altoandinas (Mella et al 2010, Astudillo et al 2015. Esto mostraría un potencial carácter oportunista debido a la fluctuación de recursos en estas zonas con condiciones climáticas extremas (Aun et al 1999, Semhan 2014.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

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Nicho trófico y bioclimático de dos especies andinas cercanamente emparentadas de <i>Liolaemus </i>(Squamata, Liolaemidae) en el sur del Perú

Salas-Ybañez,

Llanqui,

Delgado

et al. 2024

Rev peru biol

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En el presente estudio, los nichos trófico y bioclimático de Liolaemus annectens y L. etheridgei son evaluados. Ambas especies se distribuyen en la región andina del sur del Perú. La comparación interespecífica del nicho trófico reveló a Lygaeidae (Hemiptera) como presa fundamental de L. etheridgei, mientras que las presas fundamentales en la dieta de L. annectens fueron larvas de Lepidoptera, Araneae, Curculionidae (Coleoptera) y Lygaeidae. Asimismo, se observó un importante consumo de material vegetal en ambas especies, por lo que pueden considerarse omnívoras. Ambas especies presentaron una baja amplitud de nicho trófico, con una tendencia especialista de consumo de presas, y un bajo solapamiento de nicho trófico. En cuanto al nicho Grinnelliano, la evaluación y comparación de modelos de nichos ecológicos, permitieron identificar las áreas de mayor idoneidad para la sobrevivencia de estas especies. Estas se encuentran en áreas de Arequipa, Moquegua y Tacna para L. etheridgei y en Arequipa, Puno, y Cusco para L. annectens. Ambas especies mostraron una baja superposición de nicho ecológico, rechazando la hipótesis de que ocupan nichos idénticos.

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“…However, Formicidae was avoided by L. etheridgei and seems not to be an essential prey for this lizard. Interestingly, Mella et al (2010) reported the avoidance of Formicidae and a positive selection for Lygaeidae in L. puna (= L. barbarae ), although plant material was not found in the diet as it was in L. etheridgei . It is worth noting that L. etheridgei belongs to the Eulaemus subgenus while L. puna (= barbarae ) belongs to the Liolaemus subgenus (Lobo et al, 2010), so this could be a case of ecological convergence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microhabitat use, daily activity pattern, and diet of Liolaemus etheridgei Laurent, 1998 (Reptilia: Liolaemidae) in the Andean Polylepis forests of Arequipa, Peru

Llanqui

Edwards

Tejeda

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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This study describes the microhabitat use, daily activity pattern, and diet of Liolaemus etheridgei Laurent, 1998 in the El Simbral and Tuctumpaya Polylepis forests in Arequipa, Peru. El Simbral is a fragmented forest, whereas Tuctumpaya is unfragmented. Our results reveal that L. etheridgei shows no positive selection for any of the microhabitats we identified in Polylepis forests; on the contrary, it selects negatively against Polylepis trees and nonthorny bushes. The daily activity patterns indicate a bimodal pattern with peaks at 9:00–10:59 and 13:00–13:59 h. The diet of L. etheridgei consists mainly of plant material, and the most important animal prey category is Lygaeidae: Hemiptera, which is selected for positively. In particular, microhabitat selection varied for nonthorny bushes, which were selected negatively in the Tuctumpaya population but neither positively nor negatively in the El Simbral population. According to the proportions of plant material found, the L. etheridgei from El Simbral were found to be omnivorous, whereas the Tuctumpaya population was herbivorous. However, the percentage of plant material consumed in the El Simbral population was close to the critical value for herbivory–omnivory. We conclude that the three ecological aspects of L. etheridgei studied here are virtually identical in El Simbral and Tuctumpaya; therefore, this species is not affected significantly by the current fragmentation of forest.

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Seasonal variation of prey consumption by Liolaemus barbarae, a highland lizard endemic to Northern Chile

Cited by 8 publications

References 21 publications

Dietary Variation Is Driven by Landscape Heterogeneity in an Insular Omnivorous Endemic Lizard, Revealed by DNA Metabarcoding

Dietary Variation Is Driven by Landscape Heterogeneity in an Insular Omnivorous Endemic Lizard, Revealed by DNA Metabarcoding

Nicho trófico y bioclimático de dos especies andinas cercanamente emparentadas de <i>Liolaemus </i>(Squamata, Liolaemidae) en el sur del Perú

Microhabitat use, daily activity pattern, and diet of Liolaemus etheridgei Laurent, 1998 (Reptilia: Liolaemidae) in the Andean Polylepis forests of Arequipa, Peru

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