Feeding habits of Anolis sagrei, an introduced species, in urban ecosystems of Guayas Province

Feeding habits of Anolis sagrei, an introduced species, in urban ecosystems of Guayas Province

To maintain a stable population, an introduced species must be capable of exploiting varied resources and adapting to environmental conditions different from its native range. The brown anole ( Anolis sagrei ), one of the most prolific invasive species worldwide, is well established in Ecuador—espec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban ecosystems Vol. 23; no. 6; pp. 1371 - 1376
Main Authors: Narváez, Andrea E., Ghia, Taryn, Moretta-Urdiales, M. Mar, Moreira, Natalia Molina
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01-12-2020
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Anolis sagrei
Aquatic ecosystems
Biological control
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Community
Ecology
Ecosystems
Environmental conditions
Environmental Management
Insects
Introduced species
Invasive species
Life Sciences
Nature Conservation
Nonnative species
Pests
Predation
Prey
Taxonomy
Urban Ecology
Urban environments
Urban ecosystems
Introduced species
Anole
Feeding habits
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Summary:To maintain a stable population, an introduced species must be capable of exploiting varied resources and adapting to environmental conditions different from its native range. The brown anole ( Anolis sagrei ), one of the most prolific invasive species worldwide, is well established in Ecuador—especially in urban environments throughout Guayaquil and Samborondón (Guayas province). In this research, we describe the feeding habits of male and female brown anoles collected from six different sites: a regenerated wetland ecosystem and five city gardens. We dissected stomach contents in order to record the number and type of prey items, each classified to the lowest identifiable taxonomic category. Our results show that A. sagrei consumes a variety of prey items; Hymenoptera (mainly ants) represented the highest percentage of total gut contents from all sites. In addition, we found that A. sagrei also feeds on insects belonging to the families Cicadidae, Miridae, Scarabeidae, Chrysomelidae and Nitidulidae, all of which are considered to be agricultural pests. As such, we predict that A. sagrei could be an ideal model for biological control studies in urban environments throughout Guayas and perhaps beyond.
ISSN:1083-8155
1573-1642
DOI:10.1007/s11252-020-00979-3