Learning Ability Puts Invasive Lizard at an Advantage

Italian wall lizards possess a few traits that contribute to their success as an invasive species. One, they tend to use trees and human structures as refuges, leading to accidental transportation. Two, they are adaptable when it comes to habitat use, being found in natural areas, agricultural environments, and urban areas.Now, researchers have demonstrated another advantage: Italian wall lizards can exploit social learning from other species to gain information about new environments. In a new paper, an international team of researchers argue for social learning as an underappreciated, advantageous mechanism facilitating invasions.Read about it on my Animal Minds blog: Learning from Others May Help Invasive Species Adapt.