We present a comprehensive catalogue of the reptiles of Equatorial Guinea, consisting of 118 species belonging to 67 genera and 22 families. There are two species of Crocodylia, ten of Testudines and 106 of Squamata; this last taxon is represented by 62 species of snakes, two amphisbaenians and 42 lizards. Leer más.
We obtained kernels of variable robustness for six species. Node importance for connectivity varied between species, but with common patterns such as shared road crossing areas and the presence of coincident interconnected pond clusters. The combination of photoidentification, capture-recapture data and graph theory allowed us to characterize functional connectivity across the pondscape of study accounting for dispersal variability and identify areas where conservation actions could be most efficient. Our results highlight the need to account for interspecific differences in the study and management of amphibian pondscapes. Leer más.
We address two classification experiments: (1) assignment of images of the morphologically relatively distinct P. bocagei and P. lusitanicus; and (2) distinction between the overall more cryptic nine taxa that compose this complex. We used four datasets (two image perspectives and individuals of the two sexes) and three deep-learning models to address each problem. Our results suggest a high ability of the models to identify the correct species, especially when combining predictions from different perspectives and models (accuracy of 95.9% and 97.1% for females and males, respectively, in the two-class case; and of 91.2% to 93.5% for females and males, respectively, in the nine-class case). Leer más.
The invasive California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) a good example to explore invasive predators’ effects on morphology and body condition at a community level, as this invader is known to locally extinct the Gran Canaria giant lizard (Gallotia stehlini) and to notably reduce the numbers of the Gran Canaria skink (Chalcides sexlineatus) and the Boettger’s gecko (Tarentola boettgeri). Our study further highlights the importance addressing the impact of invasive predators from a community perspective in order to gain a deeper understanding of their effect in native ecosystems. Leer más.
Biogeographical processes largely explain the constant lineage diversification of green lizards in the Mediterranean Basin since the Miocene, followed by gradual phenotypic divergence unrelated to cladogenesis. Climatic niche conservatism promoted the accumulation of lineages within the Mediterranean, except for L. agilis, where climatic niche evolution might underpin its range spread towards higher latitudes. Leer más.
