Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA-CSIC), 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Proc Biol Sci. 2021 Dec 8;288(1964):20211939. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1939.
Invasive snakes represent a serious threat to island biodiversity, being responsible for far-reaching impacts that are noticeably understudied, particularly regarding native reptiles. We analysed the impact of the invasive California kingsnake, -recently introduced in the Canary Islands-on the abundance of all endemic herpetofauna of the island of Gran Canaria. We quantified the density in invaded and uninvaded sites for the Gran Canaria giant lizard, , the Gran Canaria skink, , and Boettger's wall gecko, . We used spatially explicit capture-recapture and distance-sampling methods for and active searches under rocks for the abundance of the other two reptiles. The abundance of all species was lower in invaded sites, with a reduction in the number of individuals greater than 90% for , greater than 80% for and greater than 50% for in invaded sites. Our results illustrate the severe impact of on the endemic herpetofauna of Gran Canaria and highlight the need for strengthened measures to manage this invasion. We also provide further evidence of the negative consequences of invasive snakes on island reptiles and emphasize the need for further research on this matter on islands worldwide.
入侵蛇类对岛屿生物多样性构成严重威胁，对本地爬行动物的影响深远，但研究却明显不足。我们分析了最近引入加那利群岛的入侵加州王蛇对大加那利岛所有特有爬行动物丰富度的影响。我们量化了加那利巨蜥、大加那利石龙子和博伊特格尔氏壁蜥在入侵和未入侵地点的密度。我们使用空间明确的捕获-再捕获和距离抽样方法来量化前两种爬行动物的数量，并用在岩石下的主动搜索来量化后一种爬行动物的数量。所有物种在入侵地点的丰度都较低，入侵地点的个体数量减少了 90%以上， 减少了 80%以上， 减少了 50%以上。我们的结果说明了 对大加那利岛特有爬行动物的严重影响，并强调需要加强措施来管理这种入侵。我们还提供了更多证据表明入侵蛇类对岛屿爬行动物的负面影响，并强调需要在全球范围内对这一问题进行进一步研究。
