How landscape and biotic interactions shape a Mediterranean reptile community

Abstract Context Disentangling the effect of environment and biological interaction on community composition with observational data, within environmental filtering framework, is challenging because two processes produce non independent results. Objectives Adopting N-mixture models symmetric interactions, we aimed at estimating differential effects landscape structure biotic interactions local abundance a Mediterranean reptile including four lizards ( Lacerta bilineata; Podarcis siculus; P. muralis; Chalcides chalcides ) snakes Hierophis viridiflavus; Natrix Helvetica ). Methods We sampled reptiles for three consecutive years (2019–2021; 4 surveys/year) 52 linear transects coastal landscape. analyzed count data by means multi-species model interactions. Interactions pair species were estimated from residual correlation their realized abundances, after accounting features: heterogeneity calculated land cover edge density woody vegetation patches, tree density, net primary productivity. Results Most displayed very low detection probability p ~ 0.10). All responded different intensity sensitivity to predictors. Two resulted significant: L. bilineata siculus showed positive interaction, while muralis C. negative interaction. Conclusions Using demonstrated that, also obtained community, partitioning process one possible.