Do lizards (Podarcis siculus) react to whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) scents? A comparative test on odour stimuli recognition

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 315-331
Author(s):  
Francesco Cerini ◽  
Giacomo Mattei ◽  
Luca Luiselli ◽  
Leonardo Vignoli
Keyword(s):  
Activity Pattern ◽  
Comparative Test ◽  
Tongue Flick ◽  
Complex Control ◽  
Podarcis Siculus ◽  
Tongue Flicks ◽  
Whip Snake

Abstract We tested the ability in the ruin lizard (Podarcis siculus) to discriminate between odour of a predator (the whip snake Hierophis viridiflavus) and those from harmless sources. We analysed two lizard populations: one (PP) predated by snakes and another (PNP) where no snakes occur. We tested the rate of tongue flick directed to cotton-tips impregnated with odours, and the rate of tongue flick, the time spent in immobility, escaping and exploring the terrarium containing a diffuse odour. We used the smell of the snake as dangerous stimulus, water as blank control, and cologne as complex control. Both populations did not discriminate snake cue from complex odour in both the experiments. PP individuals were more active and prone to analysing and exploring the stimuli and the environment than PNP lizards. In PP, the higher interest towards cologne and snake scents could be triggered just by their complexity that requires more tongue flicks to be ‘analysed’, with no apparent adaptive anti-predatory value. Overall, we observed a total responsiveness and activity pattern higher in the PP respect to PNP.

Chemosensory deficiency may render island-dwelling lizards more vulnerable to invasive predators

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Van Moorleghem ◽  
Katleen Huyghe ◽  
Raoul Van Damme
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Tongue Flick ◽  
Predator Detection ◽  
Invasive Predators ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Herpestes Auropunctatus ◽  
Scent Detection ◽  
Mammalian Predator ◽  
Whip Snake ◽  
Small Indian Mongoose

Abstract Newly introduced predators constitute a major threat to prey populations worldwide. Insular prey animals in particular often do not succeed in overcoming their naivety towards alien predators, making them specifically vulnerable. Why this is the case remains incompletely understood. Here, we investigate how the ability to detect and respond to predator chemical cues varies among populations of the Dalmatian wall lizard, Podarcis melisellensis. Lizards were sampled from five locations in south-eastern Croatia (one mainland location and four islands) that varied in the composition of their predator community. We observed the lizards’ behaviour in response to chemical cues of native saurophagous snakes (the Balkan whip snake, Hierophis gemonensis, and eastern Montpellier snake, Malpolon insignitus) and an introduced mammalian predator (the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus – a species held responsible for the loss of numerous insular reptile populations worldwide). Mainland lizards showed elevated tongue-flick rates (indicative of scent detection) as well as behaviours associated with distress in response to scents of both native and introduced predators. In sharp contrast, island lizards did not alter their behaviour when confronted with any of the predator cues. Alarmingly, even lizards from islands with native predators (both snakes and mammals) and from an island on which mongooses were introduced during the 1920s were non-responsive. This suggests that insular populations are chemosensorily deprived. As failure at the predator-detection level is often seen as the most damaging form of naivety, these results provide further insight into the mechanisms that render insular-living animals vulnerable to invasive species.

Chemosensory predator recognition induces defensive behavior in the slow-worm (Anguis fragilis)

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Cabido ◽  
Adega Gonzalo ◽  
Pedro Galán ◽  
José Martín ◽  
Pilar López
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Tongue Flick ◽  
Defensive Behaviors ◽  
Low Visibility ◽  
Grass Snake ◽  
Chemical Stimuli ◽  
Anguis Fragilis ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Tongue Flicks ◽  
Coronella Austriaca

Many antipredator adaptations are induced or mediated by the ability of the prey to recognize chemical cues from the predator. This ability is particularly advantageous for organisms whose environment precludes the effective use of other sensory systems, such as fossorial lizards. We tested the ability of the slow-worm, Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758, a semifossorial legless lizard, to detect and discriminate chemical stimuli arising from potential predators. We compared rates of tongue-flicks to swabs impregnated with scents from the smooth snake (Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768), a sympatric predator, the grass snake (Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758)), a sympatric but non-saurophagous predator, and the three-toed skink (Chalcides striatus (Cuvier, 1829)), a sympatric insectivorous, and thus innocuous, skink. Differential tongue-flick rates suggest that scents of smooth snakes were recognized by slow-worms. Moreover, scents of smooth snakes were quickly avoided and elicited defensive behaviors much more often than any other scent, suggesting that chemical cues are a reliable means of assessing the snake's presence. These chemosensory capacities would be evolutionarily advantageous to avoid predation by snakes and are likely to represent a component of the suite of adaptations associated with low-visibility habitats.

scholarly journals Chemical discrimination of pesticide-treated grapes by lizards (Gallotia galloti palmae, Fam. Lacertidae)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nieves Rosa Yanes-Marichal ◽  
Angel Fermín Francisco-Sánchez ◽  
Miguel Molina-Borja
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Cultivated Plants ◽  
Tongue Flick ◽  
Pesticide Treatment ◽  
La Palma ◽  
Untreated Water ◽  
Chemical Discrimination ◽  
Different Response ◽  
Tongue Flicks ◽  
Gallotia Galloti

Lizards from the Canary Islands may act as pests of several cultivated plants. As a case in point, vineyard farmers often complain about the lizards’ impact on grapes. Though no specific pesticide is used for lizards, several pesticides are used in vineyards to control for insects, fungi, etc. We therefore tested whether lizards (Gallotia galloti palmae) could detect and discriminate pesticide-treated from untreated grapes. To answer this question, we performed experiments with adults of both sexes obtained from three localities in La Palma Island. Two of them were a vineyard and a banana plantation that had been treated with pesticides and the other one was in a natural (untreated) site. In the laboratory, lizards were offered simultaneously one untreated (water sprayed) and one treated (with Folithion 50 LE, diluted to 0.1%) grape placed on small plates. The behaviour of the lizards towards the fruits was filmed and subsequently quantified by means of their tongue-flick, licks or bite rates to each of the grapes. Results showed that only lizards from the natural (untreated) site clearly differentiated the two types of grapes, performing significantly more tongue-flicks, licks and bites to the untreated than to the pesticide-treated grapes. Lizards captured at the other two sites (cultivated fields with pesticide treatment), did not show a significantly different response to the two types of grapes. These results suggest that lizards living in or near cultivated fields may be habituated to pesticide-treated food and, therefore, do not clearly discriminate treated from untreated food items. However, another possibility is that natural selection (or maybe resistance) could be responsible by these individuals in the populations showing this kind of pesticide insensitiveness.

Lingually mediated discrimination of prey, but not plant chemicals, by the Central American anguid lizard, Mesaspis moreletii

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Habegger ◽  
William Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Deionized Water ◽  
Central American ◽  
Tongue Flick ◽  
Romaine Lettuce ◽  
Plant Chemicals ◽  
Chemical Stimuli ◽  
Differential Responses ◽  
Tongue Flicks ◽  
Number Of Individuals

AbstractThe ability of the anguid lizard Mesaspis moreletii to identify food using only chemical cues was tested experimentally by presenting a series of chemical stimuli to lizards on the cotton tips of wooden applicators. The lizards responded much more strongly to cricket surface chemicals than to surface chemicals from romaine lettuce, diluted cologne (pungency control), and deionized water (odorless control). In a second experiment, there were no significant differences among conditions in tongue-flicks, tongue-flick attack scores, or number of individuals that bit swabs bearing stimuli from banana, white grape, dandelion, or deionized water. The absence of differential responses was not due to habituation because individuals tested again with cricket stimuli immediately after experiment two all bit the swabs. In the laboratory the lizards readily consumed insects, but refused to eat plants selected for their palatability to herbivorous lizards. Our data suggest that M. moreletii is carnivorous.

Four Cases of Complete Melanistic Italian Wall Lizard [Podarcis siculus (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810)] in Southern Italy and Sicily Island

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Reina ◽  
Filippo Spadola ◽  
Manuel Morici ◽  
Paola Sgroi ◽  
Antonino Marcianò
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
Podarcis Siculus ◽  
Italian Wall Lizard

Podarcis siculus (Reptilia: Sauria: Lacertidae), a new alien species for Russian fauna

2020 ◽  
Vol 324 (3) ◽  
pp. 364-370
Author(s):  
B.S. Tuniyev ◽  
L.M. Shagarov ◽  
O.J. Arribas
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
First Record ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Species Introduction ◽  
Space Images ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Podarcis Siculus ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

Podarcis siculus (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810) or Italian wall lizard is one of the most invasive reptile-species. Recently, this lacertid lizard has been introduced to Mediterranean areas of southern Europe, South-West Asia (Turkey) and North America (USA). An abundant population of P. siculus was discovered on one of the sites of the Natural Ornithological Park in the Imeretinskaya Lowland, on an area of over 0.22 km2 (Sochi, Russia). The data were collected in the May of 2020 in a strip survey method in the Imeretinskaya Lowland. To identify the colonization area of the invader, we examined all 8 sections of the Natural Ornithological Park in the Imeretinskaya Lowland and adjacent urbanized areas. More than 150 animals were observed. These Italian wall lizards, undoubtedly, belong to the northern-central Italian morphotype (presumably P. s. campestris). This is the first record of this species in the former USSR area and, also, this is the species’ north-easternmost locality. The population inhabits secondary natural biotopes and urban area. Among them are the banks of artificial water bodies, areas with cultivated trees and shrubs, as well as parks, and house lawns in the urban area. Population density was estimated from eight to 40 specimens per 100 m of the transect. A moderate proportion of young specimens (more than a 40%) would indicate a healthy and continued growth of the emerging population. To determine the possible period of the species introduction, space images of the Imeretinskaya Lowland were analyzed beginning from the transformation of its landscape for the Winter Olympic Games of Sochi 2014 until the May of 2020. The introduction of the species presumably occurred with the delivery of large-sized ornamental trees and shrubs from Italy in 2012–2013. Podarcis siculus should be included in the list of herpetofauna of Russia and particularly of the Caucasus. This is an alien species with a proven ability to become an invasive species, what will lead to a greater undesirable and unavoidable contact with native small lizards of the genus Darevskia Arribas, 1997. On the other hand, as it is often observed with new invaders, a sudden rise in population abundance could be followed by a sharp decline. A continuous monitoring of the area in question and of the number of local Italian wall lizards is necessary to confirm or refute the assumed scenarios of further invasion of P. siculus on the Black Sea Coast of the Caucasus. Further action plans for this population should be developed depending on supposed future trends.

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