Depredación de gatos domésticos y ferales sobre las lagartijas de lava de San Cristóbal (Microlophus bivittatus), Galapagos

摘要

Nowadays, one of the biggest concerns about loss of biodiversity is the presence of exotic species in the natural ecosystems. The project “Predation of feral and domestic cats on the lava lizards of San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos” has as main objective to find an alternative tool to establish the level of activity and predation of feral and domestic cats, so it can be related to different demographic, morphologic and behavioral characteristics of the lava lizard populations of San Cristóbal (Microlophus bivittatus). In this way, we can analyze if there are antecedents related to a possible impact of domestic and feral cats, an introduced species, on the lava lizards, that are endemic to the Galápagos Islands. Besides, the methods applied in this research can be used in future projects on other islands in Galápagos or around the world, so ecological predator-prey relations between cats and lizards can be established in order to know if there are or not possible threats towards the lizards survival and thus influence on the decision making about the conservation of this species.