Silva-Júnior A.O.1, Brito-Almeida T.R.1, Feitosa M.L.B.2, Jansen R.G.3, Peres M.4, Azevedo R.5, Moura G.J.B.6, Barbosa A.R.7, Lira A.F.A.8 2023. Can size make a difference? Cross-predation occurrences between lizards and scorpions in the Brazilian seasonal dry tropical forest // Invertebrate Zoology. Vol.20. No.3: 343–347 [in English].
1 Laboratório de Estudos Herpetológicos e Paleoherpetológicos-Departamento de Biologia-Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco/UFRPE, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
2 Programa de Pós-graduação em Biodiversidade, PPGBio, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brazil.
3 Centro de Ecologia e Conservaçгo Animal, Universidade Católica do Salvador, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
4 Instituto do Meio Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos, INEMA, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
5 Programa de Pós-Graduaçгo em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, PPGERN, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
6 Laboratório de Estudos Herpetológicos e Paleoherpetológicos-Departamento de Biologia-Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco/UFRPE, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Programa de Pós-graduação em Biodiversidade-UFRPE. Programa de Pós-graduação em Biociência Animal-UFRPE. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Ambientais-UFRPE.
7 Departamento de Ciências Veterinárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brazil.
8 Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Campus Cuité, Cuité, Paraíba, Brazil. E-mail: andref.lira@gmail.com
doi: 10.15298/invertzool.20.3.06
ABSTRACT. Cross-predation is an important event that may influence prey–predator dynamics, especially in arid and semiarid ecosystems. In this study, we report four predation events involving lizards and scorpions from different sites in the Brazilian seasonal dry tropical forest. In three of these events, the lizard acted as the predator, while in one event, the scorpion was the predator. Body size played a determining role when lizards were the predator of the scorpion, with larger vertebrates feeding on the arachnids. In contrast, when the sizes were similar, the scorpion acted as the predator of the lizard. Our findings suggest a complex relationship between lizards and scorpions in the Brazilian seasonal dry tropical forest.
KEY WORDS: Caatinga, competition, intraguild predation, ontogenetic reversal, semiarid.