Foraging mode of the Moorish gecko Tarentola mauritanica in an arid environment: Inferences from abiotic setting, prey availability and dietary composition

Predators, particularly those living in deserts, use two main foraging strategies, namely sit-and-wait or wide foraging. The Moorish gecko Tarentola mauritanica, a gecko frequently inhabiting humanized habitats, has been repeatedly classified as a sit-and-wait predator. However, previous data on dietary composition in natural habitats suggest a wide foraging strategy for this species. This study seeks to elucidate the foraging mode of the Moorish gecko in a natural, arid zone of southeastern Spain, from data of diel temperature cycling, prey availability and dietary composition. In this zone, the Moorish gecko has almost no prey availability in the cliffs where it retreats during the day, low and scattered prey availability on the ground near the cliffs, and lives in an environment that severely restricts foraging at night because of the low ambient temperatures. However, as shown by dietary analysis, the Moorish gecko captures prey belonging to diverse taxonomic groups, mainly ground-dwelling arthropods, as observed in other rupicolous geckos inhabiting arid zones in the Mediterranean area. These results suggest that, in these arid, natural habitats, the Moorish gecko forages widely on the ground, as previously proposed for other gekkonids from arid habitats.