Table for two: Diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckos
Oceanic islands are exciting models for studying how evolutionary processes and environmental variables can jointly contribute to speciation and community assembly over time. In this context, the Cabo Verde archipelago serves as a simplified natural laboratory, harbouring a group of endemic reptile...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000137 |
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| author | Catarina J. Pinho Bárbara Santos Vanessa A. Mata Ricardo J. Lopes Maria M. Romeiras Evandro P. Lopes Paulo C. Alves Brent C. Emerson Raquel Vasconcelos |
| author_facet | Catarina J. Pinho Bárbara Santos Vanessa A. Mata Ricardo J. Lopes Maria M. Romeiras Evandro P. Lopes Paulo C. Alves Brent C. Emerson Raquel Vasconcelos |
| author_sort | Catarina J. Pinho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Oceanic islands are exciting models for studying how evolutionary processes and environmental variables can jointly contribute to speciation and community assembly over time. In this context, the Cabo Verde archipelago serves as a simplified natural laboratory, harbouring a group of endemic reptile species that are descended from a single common ancestor, with sympatric species exhibiting wide morphological variation, particularly for size, and competing for limited food resources. This framework allows for the exploration of how the diet composition of closely related and spatially overlapping species is influenced by competition. This is exemplified by the two endemic wall geckos, Tarentola gigas and Tarentola raziana, which occur in sympatry on Raso Islet, with the latter also occurring in allopatry on Santa Luzia Island, due to the human-mediated extinction of T. gigas. DNA metabarcoding of faecal pellets was used to compare the diets of both sympatric and allopatric populations. It revealed significant differences in diet composition between both populations of T. raziana, with significantly lower prey richness and niche breadth in the Santa Luzia population. Differences observed in sympatric species were due to a higher incidence of vertebrates and plants in the diet of T. gigas, while differences between the allopatric populations of T. raziana were due to a higher incidence of plants and a lower incidence of invertebrates in the population of Santa Luzia, compared to Raso. These results suggest that competition has played an important role in structuring the stable coexistence of these species in sympatry, promoting extreme morphological discrepancies that allowed resource partitioning. In addition, this study reveals unexpected dietary differences within the allopatric population of T. raziana on Santa Luzia, suggesting a niche shift in response to the absence of a direct competitor that may influence the reintroduction planning of T. gigas. Hence, this work highlights the importance of understanding the mechanisms of resource partitioning for conservation efforts and management, especially for fragile island ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aaecf074581c49fd8924802d24ad8f71 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-aaecf074581c49fd8924802d24ad8f712025-01-23T05:27:05ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942025-01-0157e03412Table for two: Diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckosCatarina J. Pinho0Bárbara Santos1Vanessa A. Mata2Ricardo J. Lopes3Maria M. Romeiras4Evandro P. Lopes5Paulo C. Alves6Brent C. Emerson7Raquel Vasconcelos8CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, PortugalCIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, PortugalCIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, PortugalCIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Portugal; MHNC-UP, Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto, Porto, PortugalLinking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF) & Associated Laboratory TERRA. Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, Lisboa 1349-017, PortugalCIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; ISECMAR-UTA, Instituto de Engenharia e Ciências do Mar da Universidade Técnica do Atlântico, Mindelo, Cabo Verde, PortugalCIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, PortugalIPNA-CSIC - Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology, Tenerife, SpainCIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal; Corresponding author at: CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal.Oceanic islands are exciting models for studying how evolutionary processes and environmental variables can jointly contribute to speciation and community assembly over time. In this context, the Cabo Verde archipelago serves as a simplified natural laboratory, harbouring a group of endemic reptile species that are descended from a single common ancestor, with sympatric species exhibiting wide morphological variation, particularly for size, and competing for limited food resources. This framework allows for the exploration of how the diet composition of closely related and spatially overlapping species is influenced by competition. This is exemplified by the two endemic wall geckos, Tarentola gigas and Tarentola raziana, which occur in sympatry on Raso Islet, with the latter also occurring in allopatry on Santa Luzia Island, due to the human-mediated extinction of T. gigas. DNA metabarcoding of faecal pellets was used to compare the diets of both sympatric and allopatric populations. It revealed significant differences in diet composition between both populations of T. raziana, with significantly lower prey richness and niche breadth in the Santa Luzia population. Differences observed in sympatric species were due to a higher incidence of vertebrates and plants in the diet of T. gigas, while differences between the allopatric populations of T. raziana were due to a higher incidence of plants and a lower incidence of invertebrates in the population of Santa Luzia, compared to Raso. These results suggest that competition has played an important role in structuring the stable coexistence of these species in sympatry, promoting extreme morphological discrepancies that allowed resource partitioning. In addition, this study reveals unexpected dietary differences within the allopatric population of T. raziana on Santa Luzia, suggesting a niche shift in response to the absence of a direct competitor that may influence the reintroduction planning of T. gigas. Hence, this work highlights the importance of understanding the mechanisms of resource partitioning for conservation efforts and management, especially for fragile island ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000137Cabo VerdeDNA metabarcodingEcological processesEndemic reptilesMacaronesia |
| spellingShingle | Catarina J. Pinho Bárbara Santos Vanessa A. Mata Ricardo J. Lopes Maria M. Romeiras Evandro P. Lopes Paulo C. Alves Brent C. Emerson Raquel Vasconcelos Table for two: Diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckos Global Ecology and Conservation Cabo Verde DNA metabarcoding Ecological processes Endemic reptiles Macaronesia |
| title | Table for two: Diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckos |
| title_full | Table for two: Diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckos |
| title_fullStr | Table for two: Diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckos |
| title_full_unstemmed | Table for two: Diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckos |
| title_short | Table for two: Diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckos |
| title_sort | table for two diet composition differences of allopatric and sympatric populations of island geckos |
| topic | Cabo Verde DNA metabarcoding Ecological processes Endemic reptiles Macaronesia |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000137 |
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