title: Effects of feral cats on the evolution of anti-predator behaviours in island reptiles: insights from an ancient introduction.
abstract: Exotic predators have driven the extinction of many island species. We examined impacts of feral cats on the abundance and anti-predator behaviours of Aegean wall lizards in the Cyclades (Greece), where cats were introduced thousands of years ago. We compared populations with high and low cat density on Naxos Island and populations on surrounding islets with no cats. Cats reduced wall lizard populations by half. Lizards facing greater risk from cats stayed closer to refuges, were more likely to shed their tails in a standardized assay, and fled at greater distances when approached by either a person in the field or a mounted cat decoy in the laboratory. All populations showed phenotypic plasticity in flight initiation distance, suggesting that this feature is ancient and could have helped wall lizards survive the initial introduction of cats to the region. Lizards from islets sought shelter less frequently and often initially approached the cat decoy. These differences reflect changes since islet isolation and could render islet lizards strongly susceptible to cat predation.
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA binbin.li@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Binbin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belasen
authors.affiliation: Section of Zoology and Marine Biology, Department of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, Athens 15784, Greece.
authors.forename: Panayiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pafilis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bednekoff
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Foufopoulos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002415:Cats / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005260:Female; D020387:Food Chain; D006115:Greece; D058865:Introduced Species; D062312:Islands; D008116:Lizards / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011156:Population Density; D011235:Predatory Behavior
keywords: Podarcis erhardii; anti-predator behaviour; feral cat; flight initiation distance; island endemics; phenotypic plasticity