Living with aliens: Suboptimal ecological condition in Semiaqauatic snakes inhabiting a hot spot of allodiversity

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60076658%3A12520%2F19%3A43899685" target="_blank" >RIV/60076658:12520/19:43899685 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1146609X19302802" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1146609X19302802</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2019.103466" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.actao.2019.103466</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Living with aliens: Suboptimal ecological condition in Semiaqauatic snakes inhabiting a hot spot of allodiversity

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

The presence of alien species can embody a form of disturbance for natural communities and the concomitant presence of alien species at different levels within the trophic chain may compromise ecosystem functionality. We studied the ecology of two species of snake (Natrix tessellate and N. natrix) in a system of five ponds with a high number of alien species at a Mediterranean area in central Italy. We evaluated the potential perturbations to ecological traits of snakes due to the presence of alien species, including their body size, population density, and food habits. We compared the studied populations&apos; body size to that estimated in conspecific populations studied elsewhere, including populations at close distance from the study site. Distance sampling and Capture-MarkRecapture techniques were used to calculate the population density. Diet was estimated using stomach contents and stable isotope ratios (delta N-15 and delta C-13), using Bayesian stable isotope mixing models to estimate the contribution of food sources and species&apos; isotopic niche spaces. Few prey items were found in the stomach contents of either species, with Ameiurus melas as the main prey. Based on isotope niche analyses, N. tessellate diet consisted of only alien species, and N. natrix diet mostly relied on alien species ( &gt; 80%). Stomach contents revealed high overlap between the two species, although isotopes showed a random resource use (i.e. low isotopic niche space overlap). Overall, we caught a low number of individuals, indicating small population sizes. Moreover, snakes at the study site were comparatively smaller in size than most other populations found in the literature and almost all the recorded individuals were in very poor condition or injured by ingested alien prey. We suggest that the presence of rich allodiversity has negatively affected the snakes&apos; fitness by decreasing their foraging performance, increasing their risk of being preyed upon, or through other mechanisms.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Living with aliens: Suboptimal ecological condition in Semiaqauatic snakes inhabiting a hot spot of allodiversity

Popis výsledku anglicky

The presence of alien species can embody a form of disturbance for natural communities and the concomitant presence of alien species at different levels within the trophic chain may compromise ecosystem functionality. We studied the ecology of two species of snake (Natrix tessellate and N. natrix) in a system of five ponds with a high number of alien species at a Mediterranean area in central Italy. We evaluated the potential perturbations to ecological traits of snakes due to the presence of alien species, including their body size, population density, and food habits. We compared the studied populations&apos; body size to that estimated in conspecific populations studied elsewhere, including populations at close distance from the study site. Distance sampling and Capture-MarkRecapture techniques were used to calculate the population density. Diet was estimated using stomach contents and stable isotope ratios (delta N-15 and delta C-13), using Bayesian stable isotope mixing models to estimate the contribution of food sources and species&apos; isotopic niche spaces. Few prey items were found in the stomach contents of either species, with Ameiurus melas as the main prey. Based on isotope niche analyses, N. tessellate diet consisted of only alien species, and N. natrix diet mostly relied on alien species ( &gt; 80%). Stomach contents revealed high overlap between the two species, although isotopes showed a random resource use (i.e. low isotopic niche space overlap). Overall, we caught a low number of individuals, indicating small population sizes. Moreover, snakes at the study site were comparatively smaller in size than most other populations found in the literature and almost all the recorded individuals were in very poor condition or injured by ingested alien prey. We suggest that the presence of rich allodiversity has negatively affected the snakes&apos; fitness by decreasing their foraging performance, increasing their risk of being preyed upon, or through other mechanisms.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10618 - Ecology

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2019

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Acta Oecologica

ISSN

1146-609X

e-ISSN

—

Svazek periodika

100

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

neuveden

Stát vydavatele periodika

FR - Francouzská republika

Počet stran výsledku

10

Strana od-do

—

Kód UT WoS článku

000491685600007

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85072255165