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Stadler, S.R., Brock, Okay.M., Bednekoff, P.A. and Foufopoulos, J. (2023). Extra and larger lizards reside on islands with extra assets. Journal of Zoology, vol. 319, pp. 163-174. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13036
Glaronisi means gull island in Greek. Glaronisi is not only one place as a result of many neighborhoods had an island notable for its gulls. We visited a set of gull islands for our analysis on Aegean wall lizards. From our observations, if an island had nesting seagulls, it typically had a number of wall lizards and people lizards have been typically giant. To check lizard physique measurement between islands, we measured snout-vent size of lizards captured on islands with and with out nesting seagulls. To do that, we first wanted to get out into the sphere and catch some lizards!
Earlier than we get to the lizards, now we have to get on an island. In response to all our data, the lizards have been on the islands since these islands have been linked to a bigger land mass in the course of the Ice Ages. Gulls fly out and in. For us, nonetheless, there may be water to cross. Out of the 34 islands in our pattern, 19 may very well be reached by a industrial ferry, six have been reachable by a conveyable kayak, and 9 by negotiating rides with a neighborhood boat captain.
Wall lizards get their title from typically being on the dry stone partitions people have piled up across the Mediterranean. These partitions and different good lizard habitat are stuffed with locations lizards can cover. These lizards can typically be approached to inside just a few meters, however solely hardly ever nearer. The important thing to capturing them is a 3-meter fishing pole. On the finish of the pole, we tie a tiny lasso. To catch a lizard with a lasso, you have to maneuver the open lasso across the lizard’s neck, then slide the lasso closed shortly by swiftly lifting up the lizard. Whereas different supplies will work, gliding dental floss was used for a lot of the lizard captures on this examine.
Our examine documented that Aegean wall lizards are certainly bigger on islands with nesting gulls. On islands with out nesting gulls, lizards are bigger on bigger islands with extra assets. We didn’t measure the connections on this examine, however different analysis suggests these are two routes to extra meals assets for lizards. Vitamins will be captured by native plant development. That is restricted by water in the course of the summer season dry season, and bigger islands get extra and steadier rainfall. Vitamins are additionally captured within the sea, and gulls deliver fruits of the ocean to islands the place they nest. Feces, meals scraps, and even shed feathers are all merchandise of the ocean that help arthropod abundance — and wall lizards feed on arthropods. Island populations of Aegean wall lizards are formed by the native ecological pressures they expertise and supply a pure laboratory of evolution for biologists to review how life evolves beneath completely different environmental circumstances.
Dr. Kinsey Brock
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