This contains the data and r scripts necessary to duplicate the analyses of body condition and survival for the manuscript "Survival of an Extinct in the Wild skink from Christmas island is reduced by an invasive centipede: implications for future reintroductions".

The
blue-tailed skink (Cryptoblepharus egeriae) is endemic to Christmas Island
but underwent rapid population declines in the 1990s and 2000s and was listed
as Extinct in the Wild in 2017. As invasive giant centipedes (Scolependra
subspinipes) were implicated
as a cause of a failed reintroduction of captive bred skinks into a fenced
enclosure, we undertook a mesocosm experiment to investigate if skink survival
and body condition was negatively affected by the presence and density of S.
subspinipes. In addition, we used DNA barcoding to determine if wild
centipedes consume other reptile species on Christmas Island. In the mesocosm
experiments, survival of skinks was reduced by 30% and 44% at low and high
centipede densities respectively over 12 weeks, and skink body condition also
declined significantly over this period. DNA barcoding confirmed that skinks that
were lost during the mesocosm experiment had been consumed by centipedes. Further, we detected DNA of two invasive reptiles
(the Common wolf snake Lycodon capucinus and the Asian House gecko Hemidactylus
frenatus) in the stomachs of wild-caught centipedes, suggesting that
centipedes are a generalist predator of reptiles in this island ecosystem. Based on these results, we recommend that
attempts to reintroduce C. egeriae to Christmas Island should include
the control of centipedes to increase the likelihood of success.