International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation 2024, Vol.14, No.2, 134-143 http://ecoevopublisher.com/index.php/ijmec 137 homozygosity was correlated with lower fitness, as evidenced by smaller adult body size and reduced clutch mass (Pérez-Tris et al., 2019). Additionally, simulations have shown that small populations with high levels of inbreeding depression face elevated extinction risks due to the exposure of strongly deleterious mutations (Figure 1) (Kyriazis et al., 2019; Kyriazis et al., 2021). These studies highlight the detrimental effects of inbreeding depression on the health and adaptability of reptile populations in fragmented habitats. Figure 1 Deleterious variation in source populations determines the effectiveness of gene rescue (Adopted from Kyriazis et al., 2019) Caption: (A) Mean heterozygosity of the source population used for genetic rescue in the generation of rescue. (B) Mean number of strongly deleterious alleles per individual in the source population used for gene rescue (s < −0.01). (C) Time to extinction after genetic rescue from source populations of different sizes. (D) The extinction time after gene rescue was inversely correlated with the number of recessive strongly harmful alleles (s < -0.01) of the individuals used for rescue. (E) The time to extinction after genetic rescue is independent of the heterozygosity of the source population. (F) K = 10,000 extinction time under different genetic rescue strategies for source populations. For each parameter setting, 50 simulation repetitions were run (Adopted from Kyriazis et al., 2019) 5.3 Case studies highlighting genetic bottlenecks in fragmented reptile populations Several case studies illustrate the genetic bottlenecks experienced by reptile populations in fragmented habitats. The pygmy bluetongue lizard, for example, has shown restricted gene flow and significant genetic differentiation between isolated sample sites, despite no evidence of population bottlenecks or inbreeding. This restricted gene flow can lead to genetic bottlenecks, where the genetic diversity of a population is drastically reduced (Khan et al., 2021). Another study on the lizard Psammodromus algirus found that individuals in smaller habitat fragments had greater homozygosity and lower fitness, indicating a genetic bottleneck effect (Aguilar et al., 2019). These case studies provide concrete examples of how habitat fragmentation can lead to genetic bottlenecks in reptile populations, further emphasizing the need for effective conservation strategies. 6 Behavioral Adaptations to Fragmented Habitats 6.1 Changes in foraging behavior and dietary shifts Habitat fragmentation often leads to significant changes in the availability and distribution of food resources, which can force reptiles to adapt their foraging behavior and dietary preferences. For instance, studies have shown that nocturnal lemurs in fragmented forests exhibit dietary plasticity, adjusting their feeding habits to the available food sources within their habitat. This adaptability allows them to survive despite the reduced availability of fruits and flowers in fragmented areas compared to continuous forests (Hending et al., 2023). Similarly, insect herbivores in fragmented habitats experience changes in community richness and abundance, which can indirectly affect the foraging behavior of reptiles that prey on these insects (Rossetti et al., 2017).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNQ==