Geckos might lose their tails, but not their dinner
Ability to capture prey unaffected by defensive tail detachment

Date:
June 23, 2021
Source:
University of California - Riverside
Summary:
A new study finds geckos are fierce hunters whether or not their
tails are attached to their bodies.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new UC Riverside study finds geckos are fierce hunters whether or not
their tails are attached to their bodies.


========================================================================== Geckos and other lizards can distract predators by quickly dropping their tails. The tail vertebrae are perforated, making it easier to disconnect
them without any formation of scar tissue or loss of blood. Though this
ability can keep lizards from being eaten, the maneuver is performed at
a cost.

"Other studies have documented the negative effects of tail loss on
lizards' ability to run, jump, mate, and reproduce," said UCR biologist
Marina Vollin, lead author of the study. "However, few have examined their ability to capture food when they lose their tails, which is critical
for regenerating the tail and for overall survival." To help fill this
gap in understanding, Vollin and Tim Higham, an associate professor in
UCR's Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, observed
intact and newly tailless geckos on the hunt. Their work is published
in a recent Integrative and Comparative Biology journal article.

The researchers found that geckos successfully captured crickets about 77%
of the time both before and after losing tails -- a surprising retention
of accuracy since tails appear to help stabilize gecko body positions
during and after a strike.

"The geckos were much slower without tails, and their attack strikes
much more awkward," Vollin said.



========================================================================== Western banded geckos, native to the southwestern U.S. and Mexico,
are one of the few reptiles that help control scorpion populations.

In this study, the geckos were observed hunting crickets in artificial enclosures. Vollin and Higham are planning future studies in which
they hope to observe geckos hunting in the wild and feeding on other
small insects.

"It is very possible that geckos suffer a loss in feeding performance
and success following autotomy in nature given the complexity of the
habitat and more room for the prey to escape," Higham said.

They'll also study whether geckos are able to fully regain their agility
once their tails have regenerated, which can take up to a month.

"It's important to get a sense of how they operate in nature, where
additional elements could affect whether they have more difficulty
capturing prey," Vollin said.

Understanding how lizards like the Western banded gecko are able to
survive carries a significance beyond the lizards themselves. Though
they eat a variety of small insects, they also serve as a key food source
for birds, snakes, and other predatory mammals.

"I've heard them referred to as 'nature's popcorn,' because other
animals can eat a bunch of them at once, they're abundant, and easy to acquire," Vollin said. "They're a big part of the base of the food chain." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_Riverside. Original written by Jules
Bernstein. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Marina F Vollin, Timothy E Higham. Tail Autotomy Alters Prey Capture
Performance and Kinematics, but not Success, in Banded Geckos.

Integrative and Comparative Biology, 2021; DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab076 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210623091142.htm

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