Clutch Size Variability in an Ostensibly Fix-Clutched Lizard: Effects of Insularity on a Mediterranean Gecko

摘要: The island syndrome describes the evolution of slow life history traits in insular environments. Animals are thought to evolve smaller clutches larger offspring on islands response release from predation pressure and interspecific competition, resulting increases population density intraspecific competition. These forces become more pronounced with diminishing size, histories thus expected slowest small, isolated islands. We measured clutch sizes 12 populations Mediodactylus kotschyi, a small gecko Cyclades Archipelago, set land-bridge Aegean Sea (Greece). analyse variation size relation area, age, maternal body presence putative competitors nesting seabirds (which increase resource abundance form marine subsidies), richness predators. Clutch M. kotschyi decreases increasing departure classic predictions, suggesting faster There no relationships between or predator richness. Instead, could simply reflect beneficial effect subsidies derived resident seabird colonies. Indeed, have 30.9 % (1.82 vs. 1.39 eggs) than without seabirds. Thus, our data suggest that bottom-up effects may supersede expression simple kotschyi.