Freire, Eliza Maria XavierAndrade, Maria Jaqueline Monte de2019-04-112019-04-112018-12-17ANDRADE, Maria Jaqueline Monte de. Ecologia comportamental de Hemidactylus agrius Vanzolini, 1978 e H. brasilianus (Amaral, 1935) (Squamata: Gekkonidae) em diferentes fitofisionomias de caatinga no nordeste do Brasil. 2018. 111f. Tese (Doutorado em Psicobiologia) - Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, 2018.https://repositorio.ufrn.br/jspui/handle/123456789/26942Lizards have been widely used in studies of behavioral ecology across the world. About the foraging behavior of species belonging to the Gekkonidae family, for example, although they are known as sit-and-wait foragers, studies have shown that some groups present modulations in their foraging behavior. In two native species of Hemidactylus that occur in the northeastern region of Brazil (Hemidactylus agrius and H. brasilianus), data about the trophic ecology of both demonstrate the presence of nutrition items of low mobility, which are uncommon in the diets of species of sit-and-wait foraging type. Adding to that, information referring to activity profiles, thermal ecology and thermoregulation behavior in those species remain unclear. Another relevant matter concerns to the distribution of those species across the domain of the Caatinga, since, even though they occur in sympatry in highland areas, in some strict areas of the “Depressão Sertaneja” there is the presence of only one species, which could be related to the specificities in the use and sharing of resources. In this sense, this thesis has as objective to analyze the foraging and thermoregulation behaviors of H. agrius and H. brasilianus, as well as the use of resources by both species in the Caatinga. For such reason, 18 consecutive days long excursions were taken in two areas of Caatinga of different phytophysiognomy during rainy and sunny weather with distinct traits, located in the municipalities of Lagoa Nova and Serra Negra do Norte, (“Caatinga stricto sensu, ESEC Seridó”), estate of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. In those areas nocturnal active searches were carried out along preexisting transects, in which both species were registered in sympatry in the highland Caatinga and only H. agrius in the Caatinga stricto sensu. For each registered animal, notes were taken about time, habitat and micro-habitat, besides their behavior on thermoregulation and foraging by means of the focal-animal sampling method, for 10 minutes. The specimens were captured and body temperature (Tc), substrate temperature (Ts) and air temperature (Ta) were assessed. Results showed that both species are foragers of the sit-and-wait type, remaining in stationary posture during most of the observed time with low activity rates (PTM ≤ 1,6%; MPM ≤ 0,3; e NAP ≤ 0,3). In the diet, 20 categories of prey were registered, of which Orthoptera, Blattodea and Lepidoptera larvae were the main items in both species that occur in the area. Furthermore, unprecedented cases of keratophagy and malocophagy were registered on H. agrius and H. brasilianus. Seasonal differences in the diet were noted only on the H. agrius population in the ESEC Seridó; there were no sexual or interpopulational differences on the volume and number of consumed preys on the populations. Hemidactylus agrius presented a larger trophic niche and high values of overlap between both species were noted, especially when in sympatry. Both species are nocturnal with registered activity from 18:00h to 05:00h. Concerning the habitat use, H. brasilianus has used mainly areas of tree and shrubs vegetation, while H. agrius used mostly areas of rocky outcrops. The average body temperature (Tb) of H. brasilianus and H. agrius in activity in the highland area were the same at Tb = 22.8 °C and Tb = 23.2° C, while the Tb of H. agrius in the typical Caatinga was considerably higher (Tb = 26.2 °C); positive correlations were noted between the body temperatures of the species and both environmental analyzed temperatures were registered (air and substrate). In relation to the behavioral degree of thermoregulation, the values obtained from both species were relatively moderate (Δ < 1).Acesso AbertoGekkonidaeComportamento de forrageioEcologia tróficaTermorregulação comportamentalPeríodo de atividadeUso do espaçodoctoralThesisCNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS: PSICOBIOLOGIA