Sociability of Dalmatian wall lizard (Podarcis melisellensis) and Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) populations measured using the social choice test

Rod Podarcis je skupina gušterica koja se razvila i evoluirala na području Sredozemlja. Gušterice imaju važnu ekološku ulogu, a zbog velike taksonomske i ekološke raznolikosti pogodne su za evolucijska i bihevioralna istraživanja. Krška gušterica (Podarcis melisellensis) je autohtona vrsta obalnog područja Hrvatske, dok je primorska gušterica (Podarcis siculus) oportunistička vrsta koja može uspješno nadvladati autohtone vrste gušterica. Socijabilnost čini jednu od 5 glavnih kategorija osobnosti, a definira se kao reakcija organizma na prisutnost ili odsutnost konspecifika. Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti razlike u socijabilnosti primorske i krške gušterice. Istraživanje je provedeno na 60 mužjaka i 60 ženki – ukupno 120 jedinki, s tri različite lokacije (Knin, Sinj, Pag). Istraživanje je provedeno tri-komornim testom socijalnog odabira kojim je mjereno nekoliko varijabli, a najbitnije su vrijeme koje je jedinka provela u komori s praznim kavezom, vrijeme koje je jedinka provela u sredini i vrijeme koje je jedinka provela u komori, te uz kavez sa konspecifikom. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da je primorska gušterica značajno socijabilnija od krške gušterice. Između spolova, unutar vrste, nisu pronađene značajne razlike.The genus Podarcis is a group of lizards that evolved in the Mediterranean area. Lizards play an important ecological role, and due to their great taxonomic and ecological diversity, they are suitable for evolutionary and behavioral research. Dalmatian wall lizard is an autochthonous species of the coastal area of Croatia, while the Italian wall lizard is an opportunistic species that can successfully outcompete autochthonous lizard species. Sociability is one of the five main categories of personality. It is defined as the reaction of an individual to the presence or absence of conspecifics. This study aimed to investigate the differences in the sociability of the Dalmatian wall lizard and Italian wall lizard. The research was carried out on 60 males and 60 females - a total of 120 individuals, from three different locations (Knin, Sinj, Pag). The research was conducted by a three-chamber social selection test which measured several variables: the cumulative time the individual spent in the chamber with an empty cage, the cumulative time the individual spent in the middle chamber, and the cumulative time the individual spent in the chamber with the conspecific. The results of the research have shown that the Italian wall lizard is significantly more sociable than the Dalmatian wall lizard. No significant difference was found between the sexes, within the species