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16.04.2019

Fortune favours the bold! 

Our new paper is out! As part of my PhD, we tested if specific behaviours can give an advantage for invasive species. We compared different behaviours between the invasive Italian wall lizard (Podarcis sicula) and the non-invasive green Iberian wall lizard (Podarcis virescens). These two species live in the same location in Lisbon (Portugal), but they never co-exist in the exact same spots. Importantly, while the green Iberian wall lizard is native to this region, the Italian wall lizard arrived only in 1998. Because these two species are closely related, live under similar conditions (similar environmental and urbanization levels, predator pressure and prey availability), but have different invasive success, they present a great model for studying the role of behaviour in invasions!

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The green Iberian wall lizard and the Italian wall lizard. Photos by Arnaud Badiane.

We used several lab experiments to measure three different behaviours: exploratory behaviour, boldness, and neophobia (check the images). We found the invasive Italian wall lizard to be more exploratory, bold, and neophilic than the native green Iberian wall lizard. Importantly, while the native species showed high repeatability in its behaviours, the invasive species was more inconsistent, which might point for the importance of behavioural plasticity during the invasion process.

Experiments.JPG

Here is the abstract:
To reduce the impact of biological invasions, we need to understand the behavioural mechanisms that enable some species to be successful invaders. Testing differences in behaviour between sympatric congeneric species with different invasive potential is an opportunity to study specific behavioural traits associated with invasion success. Using the invasive Italian wall lizard, Podarcis sicula, and a noninvasive congeneric, the green Iberian wall lizard, Podarcis virescens, which live in sympatry in a location that is novel for P. sicula, we tested their exploratory behaviour, neophobia and boldness: all traits that should promote invasion success. The invasive P. sicula was more exploratory, bold and neophilic than the sympatric native P. virescens. Native lizards had highly repeatable behaviour, whereas in P. sicula boldness was the only behavioural trait that was repeatable. The behavioural traits of the native species, but not the invasive species, were correlated. A lack of correlation between behavioural traits, as well as a lack of repeatability in two of the three behavioural traits, suggests higher levels of behavioural plasticity in P. sicula, which may also explain the success of this lizard during invasions. Our experiment highlights the potential importance of behavioural traits in invasions and provides insight into why P. sicula is such a successful invader.

Cite this article: Damas-Moreira I, Riley JL, Harris DJ, Whiting MJ. 2019. Can behaviour explain invasion success? A comparison between sympatric invasive and native lizards. Animal Behaviour, 151, 195-202.

DOI:10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.03.008

To download the paper go here.

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