Spatial and trophic niche differentiation in two sympatric lizards (Tropidurus torquatus and Cnemidophorus ocellifer) with different foraging tactics

Abstract

Abstract In a ‘restinga’ habitat of southeastern Brazil, we studied the food habits and the microhabitat use of two lizards with distinct foraging modes: the tropidurid Tropidurus torquatus, a sit‐and‐wait predator, and the teiid Cnemidophorus ocellifer, a wide forager. The diet of the two species differed strongly, indicating a low level of similarity in their trophic niche. The sit‐and‐wait predator fed mainly on mobile prey, whereas the wide forager fed mainly on sedentary prey (larvae). The spatial niche breadth of T. torquatus was larger than that of C. ocellifer. Despite interspecific differences, the two species overlapped greatly in micro‐habitat use. The data indicate that at Linhares the two lizard species differed more in food resources than in microhabitat, and that most of the food differences reflect the foraging patterns of the species.