[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Alex Harper on 14:22:54 09/27/12
In Reply to: Re: Arch Creek Park today posted by steve siegel
The ameivas belong to a large family of New World lizards. In this same family are whiptails, including the Six-lined Racerunner that can be found in open areas throughout Florida, especially pinelands and dune systems.
The two have very similar feeding habits, but their habitats don't seem to overlap too much. The ameivas here seem to occupy slightly more wooded areas. Where the two do overlap, there might be competition over resources, and the larger ameiva would have an edge due to size.
Lastly, ameiva species are present throughout the Caribbean. I wouldn't be surprised if South Florida's tropical seasonal forests could have even harbored an endemic subspecies or species of ameiva. However, as the ameivas radiated out of tropical America and into the Caribbean, they were never able to colonize Florida because of how the peninsula emerged out of the mainland and the distance. Thus, I think there is available niche space for tropical American species to colonize areas of tropical South Florida, and that is why lizards and birds from these areas of the world are so successful here and don't appear to compete with native species. Species of southeastern organisms that are widely successful seem to peter out in presence or density in South Florida's mangrove and tropical seasonal/tropical hardwood forests.
If you have ever been to an expansive hardwood hammock in the summer, you'll notice that the foliage is mostly of Caribbean influence and that many of the birds present are those that have managed to colonize the area from Caribbean islands. These are the species that managed to make it, and I believe we could have more species native to our region that originated in tropical America, they just lacked the mechanisms to get here once peninsular Florida emerged.
Alex
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]