HOME RANGE OF THE INTRODUCED SPECIES Anolis sagrei Duméril and Bibron, 1837 (IGUANIDAE: ANOLINAE) IN LANDSCAPES WITH DIFFERENT ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCE IN WESTERN ECUADOR

Abstract

 The home range (HR) is a useful tool for prediction and managing invasive species, such as Anolis sagrei, a species recently introduced in Ecuador. Our main objective was to estimate the HR of this species in two areas with contrasting landscape and anthropogenic disturbance in Guayas province (Ecuador): Parque Histórico, which includes forest remnants, and Malecón 2000, an urban park. During July to November 2018 (dry season), and January and February 2019 (rainy season), we captured, measured, marked, georeferenced and released several individuals of A. sagrei for later relocation. We performed HR by convex polygon method, and used the U Mann-Whitney test to determine significant differences in HR size between the study areas, seasons, and stages (adult males and juveniles). In addition, we assessed the association between HR with the environmental and morphological variables using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Our main results showed significant differences between Parque Histórico (13.6 m²) and Malecón 2000 (24.8 m²; W = 789, p = 0.019), as well as between these sites during the dry season between localities (Parque Histórico = 11.77 m2, Malecón 2000 = 32.9 m2; W = 160, p = 0.0188). HR size was significant with relative humidity (Rho = 0.61; p = 0.01) and temperature (Rho = -0.55; p = 0.02) in the rainy season. This study provides the first estimate of the HR of Anolis sagrei in the wild outside its native range, as previous estimates were limited to controlled environments and its native distribution. We recommend analysing additional variables (e.g., food, shelter availability, vegetation cover) and incorporating techniques as telemetry or electronic tagging to monitor individual movements and population densities.