Gérard A. auteur aut IRD Jourdan Hervé auteur aut IRD Cugnière C. auteur aut IRD Millon A. auteur aut IRD Vidal Eric auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access The disproportionate impacts of invasive predators are often attributed to the naïveté, (i.e., inefficient or non-existing anti-predator behavior) of island native species having evolved without such predators. Naïveté, has long been regarded as a fixed characteristic, but a few recent studies indicate a capacity for behavioral adaptation in native species in contact with alien predators. Here, we tested whether two reptiles endemic to New Caledonia, a skink, Caledoniscincus austrocaledonicus, and a gecko, Bavayia septuiclavis, recognized and responded to the odor of six introduced species (two rodents, the feral cat, and three species of ants). We used an experimental design in which reptiles had a choice of retreat sites with or without the odor of predators or aggressors. Skinks avoided two or three of the predators, whereas geckos avoided at most one. These results suggest that diurnal skinks are more responsive than nocturnal geckos to the odor of introduced predators. Neither skinks nor geckos avoided the three species of ants. Thus, the odors of alien predators are shown to influence retreat site selection by two native island reptiles. Moreover, the study suggests that this loss of naivete varies among native species, probably as a consequence of the intensity of the threat and of time since introduction. These findings argue for re-thinking the behavioral flexibility of ectothermic reptiles in terms of their responses to biological invasion. specialized Naïveté Anti-predator response Retreat site selection Invasive species Behavioral adaptation NOUVELLE CALEDONIE 080 082 101 11 921-927 2014 0028-1042 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010062672 10.1007/s00114-014-1233-8 0028-1042 [F B010062672] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010062672 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2014/12/010062672.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2015-01-12 2022-02-08 fdi:010062672 fre