Spettro trofico di due popolazioni sinantropiche di geco comune, Tarentola mauritanica (Linnaeus, 1758), in Sicilia sud-occidentale

Abstract

The Moorish gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) is a lizard belonging to the Phyllodactylidae family, with circum-Mediterranean distribution. Despite the species is widespread in Sicily, there are very few studies on its feeding behaviour. This paper analyzes the diet of two synanthropic populations located in southwestern Sicily (province of Trapani) and exposed to different environmental conditions. Fecal remains were collected along the outer walls of an inhabited house in the coastal village of Triscina and in an uninhabited rural house, located near Castelvetrano town. The first study area has been constantly affected by artificial light sources, which are absent in the second study area. Results show in both cases that diets consist exclusively of arthropods, except for a single case of saurophagy on a juvenile Podarcis sp. detected in the ‘Castelvetrano’ sample. The two populations have significantly different trophic spectra and probably adopt two different foraging strategies. The ‘Triscina’ sample is characterized by the predominance of few categories of fliers prey generally concentrated by artificial light sources (Coleoptera 39.6%, Neuroptera 38.6%), suggesting the adoption of a ‘sit-and-wait strategy’. The ‘Castelvetrano’ sample is instead more varied and characterized by the prevalence of soil-related, and mostly wingless, prey (Dermaptera 36.7%, Formicidae 23.3%, Coleoptera 21.7%, spiders 11.7%), thus suggesting the adoption of an ‘active foraging strategy’.