Dataset Information

Ship rats and island reptiles: patterns of co-existence in the Mediterranean.

ABSTRACT: Background:The western Mediterranean archipelagos have a rich endemic fauna, which includes five species of reptiles. Most of these archipelagos were colonized since early historic times by anthropochoric fauna, such as ship rats (Rattus rattus). Here, I evaluated the influence of ship rats on the occurrence of island reptiles, including non-endemic species. Methodology:I analysed a presence-absence database encompassing 159 islands (Balearic Islands, Provence Islands, Corso-Sardinian Islands, Tuscan Archipelago, and Galite) using Bayesian-regularized logistic regression. Results:The analysis indicated that ship rats do not influence the occurrence of endemic island reptiles, even on small islands. Moreover, Rattus rattus co-occurred positively with two species of non-endemic reptiles, including a nocturnal gecko, a guild considered particularly vulnerable to predation by rats. Overall, the analyses showed a very different pattern than that documented in other regions of the globe, possibly attributable to a long history of coexistence.

SUBMITTER: Escoriza D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7085892 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Ship rats and island reptiles: patterns of co-existence in the Mediterranean.

Escoriza Daniel D

PeerJ 20200319

<h4>Background</h4>The western Mediterranean archipelagos have a rich endemic fauna, which includes five species of reptiles. Most of these archipelagos were colonized since early historic times by anthropochoric fauna, such as ship rats (<i>Rattus rattus</i>). Here, I evaluated the influence of ship rats on the occurrence of island reptiles, including non-endemic species.<h4>Methodology</h4>I analysed a presence-absence database encompassing 159 islands (Balearic Islands, Provence Islands, Cors ...[more]

PMID: 32219035

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Dataset Information

Ship rats and island reptiles: patterns of co-existence in the Mediterranean.

Publications

Ship rats and island reptiles: patterns of co-existence in the Mediterranean.

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