Rapid acquisition of antipredatory responses to new predators by an insular lizard

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - Pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism (Pre-SC), where females attack and consume courting males, is considered an extreme case of sexual conflict. Different...     

Postautotomy tail activity in the Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi

Caudal autotomy is an effective antipredator strategy widespread among lizards. The shed tail thrashes vigorously for long periods to distract the predator and facilitate the lizard's escape. This movement is maintained by energy supplied by the anaerobic conversion of glycogen into lactate. It has been suggested that lactate accumulation serves as an index for the vigor of tail thrashing. We made three predictions: (1) tail loss frequency should be higher under heavier predation regime, (2) the duration of postautotomy tail movement should be extended in populations under heavy predation pressure as an adaptation to the higher risk and the increased need for defense, and (3) as result, lactate in these tail tissues should be concentrated at higher levels. To eliminate the impact of phylogeny and environmental factors on the interpretation of our result, we focused exclusively on one species, the Balearic lizard (Podarcis lilfordi). We studied three populations under different predation pressure but sharing the same climatic conditions. We found no differences among the studied populations either in postautotomy duration of tail movement or in levels of final lactate accumulation while autotomy frequency was higher where predation pressure was more intense. Tail loss effectiveness is directly influenced by the level of predation, while secondary features of the trait appear to remain independent from the impact of environment.     

Is the ‘Lost World’ really lost? Palaeoecological insights into the origin of the peculiar flora of the Guayana Highlands

The peculiar biogeography of the so-called Lost World, i.e. the summits of sandstone tableaux (tepuis) in the Neotropical Guyana region of Venezuela, has generated a debate regarding the factors that are thought to account for modern vegetation patterns in the region. Some argue that plant communities on these high-elevation summits reflect a long history of evolution in isolation, while others surmise that there has been substantial biotic interchange with the surrounding lowlands during glacial times. Until now, these apparently competing hypotheses have not been tested using palaeoecological methods. I used pollen analysis of Quaternary sediments and documented past vertical migrations of vegetation in response to climate changes, which supports the second hypothesis. Physiographical analysis, however, shows that about half the tableaux summits are too high for their flora to have reached the lowlands during the last glaciation, suggesting that a portion of the tableaux vegetation has always experienced some degree of biotic isolation. Thus, a component of the summit vegetation evolved in isolation, whereas other taxa experienced interchange, as reflected in endemism patterns among the tableaux summits. Biogeographical patterns on the summits are the result of complex evolutionary processes. The two hypotheses invoked to explain the vegetation patterns are not mutually exclusive, but instead complement one another.