Foraging activity and diet of four sympatric lizard species in a tropical rainforest

Abstract

An ambush predator (Uranoscodon superciliosa, Iguanidae) eats more hidden and slow moving prey than the most active forager (Kentropyx calcarata, Teiidae). Plica umbra (Iguanidae), an ant specialist, has similar foraging intensity to Anolis punctatus (Iguanidae) and is more active than U. superciliosa, which are generalist insectivores. Plica umbra does not have the behavioral and morphological adaptations for myrmecophagy that commonly occur in desert lizards. Uranoscodon superciliosa also does not specialize on large prey, as predicted for extreme "sit-and-wait' lizards in tropical rainforests. Differences in the consequences of foraging mode for the diet of lizards between arid and forest areas may be affected by differences in the availability of prey and their distribution in the environment. -from Authors