Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes
Invasive species are a major threat to island biodiversity, and their eradications have substantially contributed to the conservation of island endemics. However, the consequences of eradications on the trophic ecology of native taxa are largely unexplored. Here, we used the eradication of invasive...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:8962685 2023-05-15T18:05:27+02:00 Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes Nunes, Sara F Mota-Ferreira, Mário Sampaio, Marta Andrade, Joana Oliveira, Nuno Rebelo, Rui Rocha, Ricardo 2021-05-13 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8962685/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35355946 https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab038 en eng Oxford University Press http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8962685/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35355946 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab038 © The Author(s) (2021). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Editorial Office, Current Zoology. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com CC-BY-NC Curr Zool Articles Text 2021 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab038 2022-04-03T01:13:23Z Invasive species are a major threat to island biodiversity, and their eradications have substantially contributed to the conservation of island endemics. However, the consequences of eradications on the trophic ecology of native taxa are largely unexplored. Here, we used the eradication of invasive black rats Rattus rattus and European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus from the Berlenga Island, in the western coast of Portugal, as a whole-ecosystem experiment to investigate the effects of the eradication of invasive mammals on the trophic niche and body dimensions of the island-restricted Berlenga wall lizard Podarcis carbonelli berlengensis over a 2-year period. Our results suggest an expansion of the isotopic niche and an intensification of the sexual dimorphism of the lizard following mammal eradication. Additionally, we found considerable variability in isotopic niche across the island and detected evidence of sex-specific and season-modulated nutritional requirements of this threatened reptile. Our findings support that the eradication of 2 of the planet’s most problematic invasive vertebrates led to changes in the lizard trophic niche and sexual dimorphism in just 2 years. This suggests that the ecological pressures—for example, prey availability and habitat structure—to which lizards are exposed have substantially changed post-eradication. Our study emphasizes the scientific value of island eradications as experiments to address a wide range of ecological questions and adds to the increasing body of evidence supporting substantial conservation gains associated with these restoration interventions. Text Rattus rattus PubMed Central (PMC) Current Zoology 68 2 211 219 |
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Articles Nunes, Sara F Mota-Ferreira, Mário Sampaio, Marta Andrade, Joana Oliveira, Nuno Rebelo, Rui Rocha, Ricardo Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes |
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Articles |
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Invasive species are a major threat to island biodiversity, and their eradications have substantially contributed to the conservation of island endemics. However, the consequences of eradications on the trophic ecology of native taxa are largely unexplored. Here, we used the eradication of invasive black rats Rattus rattus and European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus from the Berlenga Island, in the western coast of Portugal, as a whole-ecosystem experiment to investigate the effects of the eradication of invasive mammals on the trophic niche and body dimensions of the island-restricted Berlenga wall lizard Podarcis carbonelli berlengensis over a 2-year period. Our results suggest an expansion of the isotopic niche and an intensification of the sexual dimorphism of the lizard following mammal eradication. Additionally, we found considerable variability in isotopic niche across the island and detected evidence of sex-specific and season-modulated nutritional requirements of this threatened reptile. Our findings support that the eradication of 2 of the planet’s most problematic invasive vertebrates led to changes in the lizard trophic niche and sexual dimorphism in just 2 years. This suggests that the ecological pressures—for example, prey availability and habitat structure—to which lizards are exposed have substantially changed post-eradication. Our study emphasizes the scientific value of island eradications as experiments to address a wide range of ecological questions and adds to the increasing body of evidence supporting substantial conservation gains associated with these restoration interventions. |
format |
Text |
author |
Nunes, Sara F Mota-Ferreira, Mário Sampaio, Marta Andrade, Joana Oliveira, Nuno Rebelo, Rui Rocha, Ricardo |
author_facet |
Nunes, Sara F Mota-Ferreira, Mário Sampaio, Marta Andrade, Joana Oliveira, Nuno Rebelo, Rui Rocha, Ricardo |
author_sort |
Nunes, Sara F |
title |
Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes |
title_short |
Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes |
title_full |
Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes |
title_fullStr |
Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes |
title_sort |
trophic niche changes associated with the eradication of invasive mammals in an insular lizard: an assessment using isotopes |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8962685/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35355946 https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab038 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Curr Zool |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8962685/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35355946 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab038 |
op_rights |
© The Author(s) (2021). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Editorial Office, Current Zoology. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab038 |
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Current Zoology |
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68 |
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2 |
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211 |
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219 |
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1766176918402498560 |