Live Fast, Die Young: Life History Traits of an Apex Predator Exacerbate the Ecological Impact of a Toxic Invader
ABSTRACT We studied a population of large varanid lizards (yellow‐spotted monitors Varanus panoptes) on a floodplain in tropical Australia. Growth records from radio‐tracked lizards show that despite their large adult body sizes (to > 7 kg in males), these lizards attained sexual maturity at less...
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Wiley
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70625 |
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| author | Georgia Ward‐Fear Gregory P. Brown Lachlan Pettit Lee‐Ann Rollins Richard Shine |
| author_facet | Georgia Ward‐Fear Gregory P. Brown Lachlan Pettit Lee‐Ann Rollins Richard Shine |
| author_sort | Georgia Ward‐Fear |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT We studied a population of large varanid lizards (yellow‐spotted monitors Varanus panoptes) on a floodplain in tropical Australia. Growth records from radio‐tracked lizards show that despite their large adult body sizes (to > 7 kg in males), these lizards attained sexual maturity at less than 1 year of age and rarely lived for more than 2 years (females) or 4 years (males), even before mortality increased due to the arrival of toxic cane toads (Rhinella marina). This is a “faster” life history than has been reported for other species of large monitors. Growth was especially rapid in males during the wet season. The low survivorship prior to toad invasion was due to predation by pythons; communal nesting by female varanids may render them especially vulnerable. The life history of yellow‐spotted monitors requires high feeding rates, favouring the evolution of “risky” tactics such as consuming novel prey items (such as cane toads); and the combination of high abundance (> 20 adult lizards per square kilometre) and high feeding rates (> 9.9 kg of prey per lizard per annum) means that these giant lizards play a critical role in energy and nutrient flow within the floodplain ecosystem. As a result, foodwebs with the yellow‐spotted monitor as an apex predator are more vulnerable to disruption by cane toads than is the case in other parts of the toad's invasive range, where the varanid species affected by toads have “slower” life histories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2c892cbee8b44b23a5cf71a273f56dc5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-2c892cbee8b44b23a5cf71a273f56dc52024-12-27T11:24:39ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-12-011412n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70625Live Fast, Die Young: Life History Traits of an Apex Predator Exacerbate the Ecological Impact of a Toxic InvaderGeorgia Ward‐Fear0Gregory P. Brown1Lachlan Pettit2Lee‐Ann Rollins3Richard Shine4School of Natural Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales AustraliaSchool of Natural Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales AustraliaSchool of Natural Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales AustraliaSchool of Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales AustraliaSchool of Natural Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales AustraliaABSTRACT We studied a population of large varanid lizards (yellow‐spotted monitors Varanus panoptes) on a floodplain in tropical Australia. Growth records from radio‐tracked lizards show that despite their large adult body sizes (to > 7 kg in males), these lizards attained sexual maturity at less than 1 year of age and rarely lived for more than 2 years (females) or 4 years (males), even before mortality increased due to the arrival of toxic cane toads (Rhinella marina). This is a “faster” life history than has been reported for other species of large monitors. Growth was especially rapid in males during the wet season. The low survivorship prior to toad invasion was due to predation by pythons; communal nesting by female varanids may render them especially vulnerable. The life history of yellow‐spotted monitors requires high feeding rates, favouring the evolution of “risky” tactics such as consuming novel prey items (such as cane toads); and the combination of high abundance (> 20 adult lizards per square kilometre) and high feeding rates (> 9.9 kg of prey per lizard per annum) means that these giant lizards play a critical role in energy and nutrient flow within the floodplain ecosystem. As a result, foodwebs with the yellow‐spotted monitor as an apex predator are more vulnerable to disruption by cane toads than is the case in other parts of the toad's invasive range, where the varanid species affected by toads have “slower” life histories.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70625Bufo marinusecological impactinvasive speciespace of lifeVaranidae |
| spellingShingle | Georgia Ward‐Fear Gregory P. Brown Lachlan Pettit Lee‐Ann Rollins Richard Shine Live Fast, Die Young: Life History Traits of an Apex Predator Exacerbate the Ecological Impact of a Toxic Invader Ecology and Evolution Bufo marinus ecological impact invasive species pace of life Varanidae |
| title | Live Fast, Die Young: Life History Traits of an Apex Predator Exacerbate the Ecological Impact of a Toxic Invader |
| title_full | Live Fast, Die Young: Life History Traits of an Apex Predator Exacerbate the Ecological Impact of a Toxic Invader |
| title_fullStr | Live Fast, Die Young: Life History Traits of an Apex Predator Exacerbate the Ecological Impact of a Toxic Invader |
| title_full_unstemmed | Live Fast, Die Young: Life History Traits of an Apex Predator Exacerbate the Ecological Impact of a Toxic Invader |
| title_short | Live Fast, Die Young: Life History Traits of an Apex Predator Exacerbate the Ecological Impact of a Toxic Invader |
| title_sort | live fast die young life history traits of an apex predator exacerbate the ecological impact of a toxic invader |
| topic | Bufo marinus ecological impact invasive species pace of life Varanidae |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70625 |
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