Dataset Information

Habitat use in south-west European skinks (genus Chalcides).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Congeneric species of reptiles frequently exhibit partitioning in terms of their use of habitats or trophic resources in order to reduce competition. In this study, we investigated habitat use by two species of European skinks: Chalcides bedriagai and Chalcides striatus, based on 49 records from southern France, Spain, and Portugal.

Methods

We measured three levels of niche descriptors: macroscale (climate, topography, and substrate), mesoscale (plant associations), and microscale (vegetation cover and shelters). We assessed the associations between these environmental descriptors and the occurrence of the skinks.

Results

Our results showed that the two species occupied opposite extremes of the ecological gradient i.e., C. bedriagai in semi-arid environments and C. striatus in temperate-oceanic environments, but there was broad ecological overlap in transitional climates at all of the habitat scales examined. This overlap was demonstrated by the presence of syntopy in geographically distant sites with different environmental characteristics.

Discussion

The morphological differences between the two species, and possibly their different use of microhabitats, might favor this mesoscale overlap between congeneric species, which is relatively unusual in Mediterranean lizards.

SUBMITTER: Escoriza D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5768165 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Habitat use in south-west European skinks (genus <i>Chalcides</i>).

Escoriza Daniel D Pascual Guillem G Sánchez-Vialas Alberto A

PeerJ 20180112

<h4>Background</h4>Congeneric species of reptiles frequently exhibit partitioning in terms of their use of habitats or trophic resources in order to reduce competition. In this study, we investigated habitat use by two species of European skinks: <i>Chalcides bedriagai</i> and <i>Chalcides striatus</i>, based on 49 records from southern France, Spain, and Portugal.<h4>Methods</h4>We measured three levels of niche descriptors: macroscale (climate, topography, and substrate), mesoscale (plant asso ...[more]

PMID: 29340255

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