For dirt ball - eat lizard , island living means going athirst every now and then . To make the most of scarce solid food resources on isolated Grecian islet , Balkan green lizard ( Lacerta trilineata ) have evolved a especial digestive organization that allows them to occupy nutrients better . The work , published inThe Science of Nature , helps explain how animals are able to successfully colonize island .
Reptiles have been known to aline their food for thought predilection in reply to ambitious conditions like down in the mouth rain or food provision that ’s restrict ( in prison term and amount ) . premature survey found that Balkan green lizards on Grecian island broaden their diet to include more plants : about 30 % of their diet consists of plant life material , liken to the 10 % for mainland lounge lizard .
To study the impact on digestion , a trine of research worker take by Kostas Sagonas from theUniversity of Athenscompared adult male person Balkan green lizards from population on mainland Greece with those living on the islands of Andros and Skyros . Island lizards , they determine , had long gastrointestinal tracts and bowel passage times . This exposes solid food to digestive enzymes for longer , result in higher digestive efficiency . In gain to a longer small bowel and hindgut , lounge lizard from Skyros also have longer stomachs .
Then , when the squad dissected their hindgut , they discovered that social system call cecal valve appear more frequently in island - dwelling lizard . Typically found in plant - eating lizard , cecal valves help oneself slow the transit of food and provide chamber for microbes that sour and break down works material into fatty pane . The researchers found cecal valve in 62 % of the island lizards and just 19 % of the mainland ones – which chew over how these insect - eaters have started to consume a more wide-ranging dieting that admit plants .
Because of these caecal valves and their longer digestive tract , food eaten by island lounge lizard takes 26 % longer to pass through . Retaining food for longer maximizes Department of Energy income and increases the amount of nutrient extract . " Such adaptations allow insular populations to take advantage of the limited food resources of the island and , finally , master food dearth , " Sagonas said in astatement .
