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Invaded habitats by Podarcis siculus in Europe and Asia: A. Alba Carolina Citadel, Alba Iulia (Romania); B. University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Rose Garden, Bucharest (Romania); C. private garden in Baku (Azerbaijan); D. the island of Lampedusa (Italy). Photos by T. Sos (A, B), T.M. Iskenderov (C), M.A. Carretero (D).
Source publication
In recent decades, many reptile species have been introduced outside their native ranges, either accidentally through the transportation of goods and materials (e.g., plants, construction materials), but also intentionally through the pet trade. As a paradigmatic example, the Italian wall lizard, Podarcis siculus, native to the Italian Peninsula, S...
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... with construction materials, plants or other materials associated with construction works, agriculture and gardening (Silva-Rocha et al., 2014). In fact, the habitats of the populations from Bucharest, Zagreb, Karlovac and Baku have all undergone gardening and plant importation (Iftime and Iftime, 2021;Iskenderov et al. 2021; D. Lisičić unpubl.; Fig. 3, B and C). While those in Lampedusa have undergone significant reconstruction works during the past years (M. Carretero pers. obs., respectively; Fig. 3, D). A similar situation occurred in Alba Iulia (Romania), where lizards were found after the reconstruction of the Alba Carolina Fortress (T. Sos pers. obs., respectively; Fig. 3, A). ...
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... the habitats of the populations from Bucharest, Zagreb, Karlovac and Baku have all undergone gardening and plant importation (Iftime and Iftime, 2021;Iskenderov et al. 2021; D. Lisičić unpubl.; Fig. 3, B and C). While those in Lampedusa have undergone significant reconstruction works during the past years (M. Carretero pers. obs., respectively; Fig. 3, D). A similar situation occurred in Alba Iulia (Romania), where lizards were found after the reconstruction of the Alba Carolina Fortress (T. Sos pers. obs., respectively; Fig. 3, A). The distribution of this species to the east is associated with an increase in trade, namely the growth of exports of plants from the Mediterranean ( ...
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... unpubl.; Fig. 3, B and C). While those in Lampedusa have undergone significant reconstruction works during the past years (M. Carretero pers. obs., respectively; Fig. 3, D). A similar situation occurred in Alba Iulia (Romania), where lizards were found after the reconstruction of the Alba Carolina Fortress (T. Sos pers. obs., respectively; Fig. 3, A). The distribution of this species to the east is associated with an increase in trade, namely the growth of exports of plants from the Mediterranean ( Kukushkin et al., 2017). P. siculus was also found for the first time in Sochi (southern Russia, see Fig. 1), which is a large port city ( Tuniyev et al., 2020). The origin of this ...
Citations
... As urban locations we used the cities of Zagreb (Zagreb county, "A_U1") and Rovinj (Istria county, "A_U2"), and as semi-natural locations we used the forests in Park Zlatni Rt (Istria county, "B_S1") and near Vrlika (Split-Dalmatia county, "B_S2"); see the ESM for more information. The colonization history of the urban populations is unknown, except for P. siculus in Zagreb, for which molecular analysis predictably confirmed its origin from the Adriatic region (Oskyrko et al. 2022). In both urban environments lizards can be found in the town centre, surrounded by high levels of habitat modification, artificial structures, and anthropogenic disturbance. ...
Urbanization occurs at a global scale, imposing dramatic and abrupt environmental changes that lead to biodiversity loss. Yet, some animal species can handle these changes, and thrive in such artificial environments. One possible explanation is that urban individuals are equipped with better cognitive abilities, but most studies have focussed on birds and mammals and yielded varied results. Reptiles have received much less attention, despite some lizard species being common city dwellers. The Italian wall lizard, Podarcis siculus, and the common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis, are two successful lizards in anthropogenic habitats that thrive in urban locations.
To test for differences in a cognitive skill between urban and semi-natural environments, we investigated inhibitory control through a detour task in syntopic populations of the two species, across 249 lizards that were tested in partially artificial field settings. Sophisticated inhibitory control is considered essential for higher degrees of cognitive flexibility and other higher-level cognitive abilities. In this task, we confronted lizards with a transparent barrier, separating them from a desired shelter area which they could only reach by controlling their impulse of going straight and instead detour the barrier. We found no differences between lizards in urban and semi-natural environments, nor between species, but females overall performed better than males. Moreover, 48% of the lizards in our study did not perform a correct trial in any of the five trials, hinting at the difficulty of the task for these species. This study is among the first in addressing lizard cognition, through their inhibitory control, as a potential explanation for success in cities and highlights one should be careful with assuming that urban animals generally have enhanced cognitive performance, as it might be taxa, task or condition dependent.
Knowledge of the spatial distribution of reptiles is essential for decision-making in conservation under future climate change scenarios. We present a new compilation of reptile records for Odesa Oblast (i.e. province), south-west Ukraine. We compiled 662 records: 200 from our own research during 2012–2022, 362 from the published literature, 73 from public databases and 27 from museum collections. Fourteen native species of reptile (one species of Emydidae, four of Lacertidae, one of Anguidae, six of Colubridae and two of Viperidae) have been recorded in Odesa Oblast but the distribution of several are poorly known and/or records have rarely been published. We also report four introduced reptile species (one each of Emydidae, Gekkonidae, Lacertidae and Anguidae). We present the data in a grid of 462 10 × 10 km cells covering the oblast. In this compilation we did not record any new species, but our records include previously unreported localities for some species. Species richness was highest in the areas along the Black Sea, in protected areas. The main threats to the reptiles in Odesa Oblast are the alteration and degradation of habitats, military action, uncontrolled pressure from infrastructure projects and the presence of invasive species.
Aim: The Mediterranean Basin is a global biodiversity hotspot and has one of the longest histories of human–biota interactions. Islands host a large fraction of Mediterranean diversity and endemism, but the relative importance of natural versus human-mediated colonisation processes in shaping the distribution and genetic structure of Mediterranean island fauna remains poorly understood. Here, we combine population genomics, demographic models and palaeoshoreline reconstructions to establish the island-colonisation dynamics of wall lizards in Mediterranean archipelagos.
Location: Four Mediterranean archipelagos in Italy and Croatia.
Taxon: The wall lizard Podarcis siculus.
Methods: We used ddRAD sequencing to genotype 140 lizards from 23 island and mainland populations. Analyses of admixture and site frequency spectra were used to reconstruct population structure, demographic history and variation of gene flow through time. Genomic results were integrated with palaeogeographical reconstructions and were compared to archaeological evidence of human presence on these islands.
Results: Although many island populations of this species are assumed to be nonnative, we find that many islands were colonised long before any known human settlements (230,000–12,000 years ago). This natural colonisation most likely occurred through land bridges during glacial marine regression or by over-sea rafting. On the other hand, islands distant from the continent were often colonised recently, and
some of the estimated island colonisation times match historical records of human arrival. We also determine that long-established island populations generally show lower genetic diversity compared to proximate mainland populations, contrary to recently colonised islands that must have experienced higher rates of post-colonisation gene flow.
Main Conclusion: Our integrated approach provides us with the power to accurately quantify the origin, timing and mode of island colonisation. This framework helps to clarify the biogeographical and evolutionary history of island populations, with important implications for conservation and management of island biodiversity.
