The role of lizards as potential pollinators is increasingly recognized, especially on islands. However, there are very few studies at the community level that have also addressed intraspecific variations related to the consumption of floral resources. We pursued this objective on the island of Cabrera Gran (Balearic Islands) where there are the Balearic wall lizards (Podarcis lilfordi) and two geckos (Tarentola mauritanica and Hemidactylus turcicus). Balearic lizards have proven to be potential community-level pollinators by interacting with many different plant species to varying degrees. Although in some plant species lizards damaged reproductive structures by feeding directly on them, legitimate visits were significantly more frequent. Intraspecific differences were found in these wall lizards and even indications of gecko–flower interactions. These findings expand our knowledge not only on the magnitude of lizard–plant community interactions but also in their complexity. Leer más.

For 24 years, we studied the interaction of the endemic Balearic lizard Podarcis lilfordi) and the dead horse arum (Helicodiceros muscivorus) on Aire Island, a small coastal islet of the Balearic Archipelago (Spain). From a small initial plant population, the frugivorous activity of lizards apparently resulted in an extraordinary increase in plant abundance over the entirety of Aire Island. The intensity of seed dispersal by lizards was higher in years with lower rainfall and, consequently, with lower availability of other food resources. Thus, the fruits of the dead horse arum were an alternative food strongly exploited during years of food shortage. Leer más.

Un estudio elaborado por la Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC) ha revelado que la mayoría de las especies de anfibios no se reproducen mediante «el típico y ancestral método», con un ciclo de vida con larvas acuáticas que metamorfosean a adultos terrestres, sino mediante modos alternativos. Leer más. Artículo original.

S’analitzen els factors que determinen la coexistència de la tortuga de rierol (Mauremys leprosa), espècie autòctona de la península Ibèrica i que es troba en perill d’extinció, i la tortuga d’orelles vermelles (Trachemys scripta elegans), una de les espècies invasores més perilloses, en els aiguamolls del Delta del riu Llobregat.  Leer más.

The new species from the Farasan Islands represents the second vertebrate species endemic to the archipelago. Together with the descriptions of the diagnostic features of both species, we provide complete annotated mitochondrial genomes of both holotypes and of holotypes of two other species from the clade to characterize their mitogenomic composition and architecture. Leer más. Ir a Novataxa.