Variation in the diet of the lizard Tropidurus torquatus along its coastal range in Brazil

Biota Neotropica

Carla Costa Siqueira¹  Mara Cíntia Kiefer¹  Monique Van Sluys¹  Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha¹ 

关键词: geographic variation;    feeding ecology;    restinga habitat;    tropical lizard;    Tropiduridae;    variação geográfica;    ecologia alimentar;    restinga;    lagarto tropical;    Tropiduridae;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1676-06032013000300012

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

The diet composition of lizards of a given species may vary among different populations. The feeding ecology of the tropidurid lizard Tropidurus torquatus was studied in 10 coastal areas in Brazil in order to detect to what extent the diet varies along its geographic range. A non-metric multidimensional scaling technique revealed three groups of localities according to the diet composition: one characterized by a relatively high consumption of Isoptera, one characterized by a relatively high proportion of plant matter, and one in which there was a great importance of Formicidae. We found a weak pattern of latitudinal differences in restingas regarding the general consumption of items by T. torquatus, probably because this is a generalist and opportunistic lizard, which consumes most of the available types of potential food items in the habitat. However, lizards from northern populations consumed a larger quantity of smaller items (e.g., Isoptera) than those from southern populations. In the southern populations, on the other hand, larger items such as Coleoptera, Lepidoptera larvae and fruits were more frequently consumed. It is likely that the observed interpopulational variation in some aspects of the feeding ecology of coastal T. torquatus is mainly given by food availability.

【 授权许可】

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