Exploratory and neophilic behaviour of Podarcis siculus and Podarcis melisellensis

The Italian (Podarcis siculus) and Dalmatian (Podarcis melisellensis) wall lizards, which coexist in the Eastern-Adriatic, have similar ecological traits, although P. siculus has invasive potential and is often larger. To understand the mechanisms of coexistence, we measured exploratory behavior, activity levels, neophilia, neophobia, and repeatability in individuals of both sexes and both species that were taken from three sympatric wild populations (N=240).