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2
2007
Relaxed lifestyle has immediate benefits but could lead to trouble
Island life is good for lizards, according to a study published recently in Ecology Letters. The Santa Fe Institute’s Lauren Buckley and UC San Diego’s Walter Jetz collected and analyzed data from previous studies, assembling information on 643 lizard populations from around the world. Freed from the twin stressors of predation and competition lizards pack themselves in, with average population densities more than ten times higher than on the mainland. It’s not all good though: relaxing the selection pressures felt on the mainland could be one of the factors that makes island populations so vulnerable to introduced predators. Source: Buckley LB & Jetz W (2007) Insularity and the determinants of lizard population density. Ecology Letters DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01042.x
Image © Alex Bramwell
Filed Under Climate change, Endangered species, Habitat, Invasive species |
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