A contribution to the knowledge of the trophic spectrum of three lacertid lizards from Bulgaria
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Date
2013-04-04
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Plovdiv University Press “Paisii Hilendarski”
Abstract
A study on the trophic spectrum of three species of lacertid lizards (Lacerta agilis, Lacerta trilineata and Podarcis muralis) was carried out, based on 20 specimens collected in the period 1967-1973 in various localities in Bulgaria. The analyzed data showed that the insects (Insecta) are the most numerous and the most frequently met among the alimentary components of the total amount of food of the studied stomachs (except for Lacerta agilis, where spiders are slightly predominating). The non-insect components consisted spiders and isopods. The largest niche breadth was recorded in Lacerta trilineata (8.25), followed by Podarcis muralis (5.20) and Lacerta agilis (3.44). The niche overlap between the
three species (pair-wise comparison) showed medium values and in our opinion there should not be any serious competition for food resources at the places with sympatric distribution.
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Keywords
trophic spectrum, niche breadth, niche overlap, Lacerta trilineata, Lacerta agilis, Podarcis muralis, Bulgaria