Diet of juvenile lizards, Uma exsul, from Coahuila, Mexico

Author(s): Joshua J. Schulte, Geoffrey R. Smith, and Julio A. Lemos-Espinal

Source: The Southwestern Naturalist, 62(1):69-71.
Published By: Southwestern Association of Naturalists
https://doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-62.1.69
URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1894/0038-4909-62.1.69

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THE SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST 62(1): 6994 MARCH 2017

NOTES

THE SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST 62(1): 6971

DIET OF JUVENILE LIZARDS, UMA EXSUL, FROM COAHUILA,

MEXICO

JOSHUA J. SCHULTE, GEOFFREY R. SMITH, AND JULIO A. LEMOS-ESPINAL*

Department of Biology, Denison University, Granville, OH 43023 (JJS, GRS)

Laboratorio de Ecologa, Unidad de Biologa, Tecnologa y Prototipos, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Av.
De los Barrios # 1, Col. Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlalnepantla, Estado de Mexico, Mexico (JLE)
*Correspondent: lemos@unam.mx

ABSTRACTWe examined the diets of 43 juveniles of the lizard Uma exsul from Coahuila, Mexico. The diet
was composed primarily of adult and larval beetles. The diets of two females collected at the same time and
place as the juveniles included beetles as the most important item but hemipterans, ants, and other
hymenopterans were also important. Our observations suggest that the differences between the diets of
juvenile U. exsul in this study and adult U. exsul in another study likely reflect both local abundances of prey
and ontogenetic changes.

RESUMENExaminamos la dieta de 43 juveniles de la lagartija Uma exsul de Coahuila, Mexico. La dieta

estuvo compuesta principalmente de larvas y adultos de escarabajos. La dieta de dos hembras recolectadas al
mismo tiempo y en el mismo lugar que los juveniles incluyo escarabajos como la presa mas importante, pero
hempteros, hormigas y otros himenopteros tambien fueron importantes. Nuestras observaciones sugieren
que las diferencias entre la dieta de juveniles de U. exsul en este estudio y adultos de U. exsul en otro estudio
probablemente reflejen tanto las abundancias locales de presas como cambios ontogeneticos.

The diets of juvenile lizards can differ from those of
adults, either in breadth or composition (Znari and El
Mouden, 1997; Duffield and Bull, 1998; Azocar and
Acosta, 2011; Raya-Garca et al., 2015), although this is
not always the case (Teixeira-Filho et al., 2003). In
addition, the foraging ecology and profitability of
neonate or juvenile lizards may differ from that of adults
(Watters, 2010). However, few studies have examined
large series of juveniles, nor are juvenile diets available for
many species of lizards.
We examined the stomach contents of 43 juvenile Uma
exsul from the Herpetological collection of the Unidad de
Biologa, Tecnologa y Prototipos, Laboratorio de Ecologa,
Facultad de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional
Autonoma de Mexico, Iztacala, Mexico, Mexico. These
specimens were collected from Dunas de Bilbao, municipio
Viesca, Coahuila (25825 0 26.7 0 0 N, 102853 0 40.2 0 0 W; 1,115 m)
on 1314 July 2004 (Smith et al., 2005). The Dunas de
Bilbao is an extensive sand dune area of approximately 10
km2 located approximately 65 km east-southeast of the city
of Torreon. The area is composed of active, semi-stabilized,
and stabilized sand dunes. Individual U. exsul are typically
found in the semistabilized sand dunes, characterized by
sparse vegetation that includes mesquite (Prosopis glandulo-
sa) and a variety of herbaceous plants that often grow in
dense clusters which serve as refugia for U. exsul (J. A.
Lemos-Espinal, pers. observ.). Uma exsul is the most
abundant and conspicuous reptile in this area (J. A.
Lemos-Espinal, pers. observ.). Other reptile species in the
study area include Gambelia wislizenii, Coleonyx brevis,
Phrynosoma cornutum, Apsidoscelis marmorata, Uta stansburiana,
Masticophis flagellum, Rhynochelius lecontei, Pituophis catenifer,
Thamnophis marcianus, and Crotalus scutulatus.
Adult U. exsul have been described as generalists in terms
of their diet (Gadsden et al., 2001). Gadsden et al. (2001)
found that formicids were the most common item in the
diet of adult U. exsul across the year, with other hymenop-
terans and hemipterans also being important seasonally.
Uma exsul also respond to chemical cues of both plants and
animals, suggesting a potentially broad diet (Cooper et al.,
2006). Our goal was to compare the diets from the juvenile
U. exsul that we studied to the previous study of diet in adult
U. exsul to see if there are any indications they might differ.
We measured snout-vent length (to nearest 0.1 cm
70 The Southwestern Naturalist vol. 62, no. 1

TABLE 1Diet of 43 juvenile Uma exsul from Coahuila, Mexico, collected on 1314 July 2004. Proportion of totals given in
parentheses. IV = importance value.

Taxon Number of items Volume Stomachs IV

Araneae 1 (0.002) 0.01 (0) 1 (0.023) 0.025

ColeopteraAdults 425 (0.724) 295.4 (0.683) 42 (0.977) 2.284
ColeopteraLarvae 119 (0.203) 136.41 (0.316) 16 (0.372) 0.891
Diptera 6 (0.010) 0.03 (0.0001) 5 (0.116) 0.126
Hemiptera 21 (0.036) 0.1 (0.0002) 12 (0.279) 0.315
Homoptera 1 (0.002) 0.01 (0) 1 (0.023) 0.025
Hymenoptera (non-ant) 10 (0.017) 0.06 (0.0001) 9 (0.209) 0.226
Hymenoptera (ant) 1 (0.002) 0 (0) 1 (0.023) 0.025
Unidentified larvae 3 (0.005) 0.33 (0.0008) 2 (0.046) 0.052
Total 587 432.35 43
Niche breadth 1.77 1.77

using a plastic ruler), head width (to nearest 0.01 cm
using a digital caliper), and head length (to nearest 0.01
cm using a digital caliper) of each specimen (one
specimen was inadvertently not measured, thus n for
measurements is 42). We removed the stomach contents
of each individual via dissection. We identified each prey
item to the lowest taxonomic level possible (generally
order) and measured the maximum length and width
using a digital caliper (to nearest 0.1 mm). We used
BugRun to estimate prey volume (using the equation of a
prolate spheroid) as well as niche breadth on prey
number and volume (Vitt and Zani, 2005). We calculated
an importance value (IV) for each prey taxon (i) using
the sum of the proportions of total prey items (pNi), total
prey volume (pVi), and total number of stomachs (pSi)
represented by prey item i (Powell et al., 1990):
IVi = pNi + pVi + pSi
Mean snout-vent length of the juvenile U. exsul was 3.77
0.05 cm (n = 42; range = 34.5 cm). Mean head width
was 0.708 0.007 cm (n = 42; range = 0.580.8 cm) and
mean head length was 0.897 0.010 cm (n = 42; range =
0.791.02 cm).
For the juvenile U. exsul that we examined, the diet was
composed primarily of adult and larval beetles (Table 1).
Indeed, adult beetles represented 72.4% of the total
number of prey items, 68.3% of the total volume of prey,
and were found in 97.7% of all stomachs. Larval beetles
TABLE 2Diet of two adult Uma exsul from Coahuila, Mexico,
collected on 1314 July 2004. Proportion of totals given in
parentheses. IV = importance value.
Number
Taxon of items Volume Stomachs
Coleoptera 10 (0.526) 0.166 (0.464) 2 (1.0)
Hemiptera 4 (0.210) 0.146 (0.408) 1 (0.5)
Hymenoptera 1 (0.053) 0.025 (0.070) 1 (0.5)
Formicidae 4 (0.210) 0.021 (0.059) 1 (0.5)
Total 19 0.358 2
were less prevalent but much more important than other
prey items.
We also examined the stomach contents of two adult
female U. exsul (snout-vent length = 6.8 and 6.5 cm)
collected at the same time and place as the series of
juveniles. The diets of these two females included beetles
as the most important item, but hemipterans were also
important as were ants and hymenopterans (Table 2).
Our observations on the diets of juvenile U. exsul differ
from previous reports of adult diets in U. exsul. While our
study and that of Gadsden et al. (2001) both identified
insects as the main food items, these two studies
identified different main food items (beetles, our study;
ants, Gadsden et al., 2001). However, beetles and
hemipterans were present in summer (JulySeptember)
samples from adults of U. exsul in Gadsden et al. (2001)
but not at the same proportions as in the juveniles in our
study. Possible explanations for these differences include
differences in the seasonal timing of collection and
differences in the local availability of prey. However, the
diets of the juveniles we collected in July were still
different from the adult females we collected as well as
from the summer (JulySeptember) sample examined by
Gadsden et al. (2001). Thus, it seems unlikely that season
could explain much of the differences that we observed.
Unfortunately, data on prey availability at the study site
are not available. In addition, differences between our
observations and Gadsden et al. (2001) could reflect
differences in ontogenetic stage. The limited data on
adult diet from our study suggest that the differences
observed above likely reflect both local abundances of
prey (i.e., beetles still important in the two adults in our
study but not in the Gadsden et al., 2001) and potential
IV ontogenetic changes (i.e., beetles important for both
adults and juveniles, but with other diet items such as ants
1.99 also important for adults, even when only two adults were
1.12 examined). Differences between adults and juveniles
0.623 could also reflect differences in gape size. However, in
0.769
the two adult female U. exsul we examined, the maximum
prey width of the prey items observed was 0.53 cm, which
March 2017 Notes 71

is less than the mean head width for the juveniles we
examined. Also, only one of the prey items (out of 19)
found in the two adult females we examined had a length
(0.92 cm) greater than the mean head length of the
juveniles we examined. In addition, one of the biggest
differences between adults and juveniles in our study is
the higher abundance of ants, a small prey item, in the
adult individuals as compared to the juveniles. Thus,
while gape size may contribute to some of the differences
that we observed, we do not believe it is a major factor
driving prey differences between adults and juveniles.
Clearly, additional work is needed to address these
possibilities, but our observations do suggest that juvenile
diets in U. exsul may differ from those of adults.
We thank the late Hobart Smith for facilitating the loan of
these specimens. Two anonymous reviewers helped improve the
manuscript.
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Submitted 20 April 2016. Accepted 12 December 2016.
Associate Editor was Charles Matthew Watson.

THE SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST 62(1): 7174

NEW NESTING RECORD OF THE PEREGRINE FALCON (FALCO

PEREGRINUS) IN CENTRAL TEXAS

BRUCE CALDER, JR., CHRISTOPHER A. DUCHARME, AND HEATHER L. PRESTRIDGE*

P.O. Box 684771, Austin, TX 78768 (BCJr)

P.O. Box 471, Bastrop, TX 78602 (CAD)
Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station,
TX 77843 (HLP)
*Correspondent: hlprestridge@tamu.edu

ABSTRACTWe document a nesting female of peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) in Austin, Texas. Nesting
took place in an artificial nest box installed on the tower at the University of Texas campus. The female
produced four infertile eggs. This finding documents the first nesting in Travis County and broadens the
range of peregrine falcon in the state.