Predation is one of the most important factors affecting biology, ecology and behaviour of the prey. We have studied predation of the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) by the great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) in farmland habitats in western Poland. Shrike caches were used as a source of information about preyed lizards. Shrikes hunt significantly more adult males than females, juveniles and sub-adults; the pattern was similar over all three study years. Male lizard had longer activity time than female; therefore, they seem to be under predation pressure for a longer time during breeding season. Capture and count transect data of common lizard populations living within and outside shrike territories showed significant seasonal differences: within shrike territories, there was lower proportion of males than females; moreover, in some territories, the number of males in the lizard population was negatively correlated with the number of males impaled by shrikes. Our findings suggest that in this particular predator-prey system, shrikes may be a strong selective force for lizards’ population dynamics. Male-biased predation could be caused by differences in the behaviour of adult male and female lizards, namely longer activity of males and differences in space and refuge use.

中文翻译：

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男性支付更多吗？雄性灰蜥蜴（Lanius excubitor）对普通蜥蜴（Zootoca vivipara）的雄性捕食

捕食是影响猎物生物学，生态和行为的最重要因素之一。我们研究了大型灰伯劳（Lanius excubitor）对普通蜥蜴（Zootoca vivipara）的捕食。）在波兰西部的农田栖息地中。伯劳缓存被用作有关猎豹的信息的来源。rik虫猎杀成年男性的人数明显多于雌性，少年和亚成年的成年人；在所有三个学习年中，这种模式都是相似的。雄性蜥蜴的活动时间长于雌性。因此，它们在繁殖季节似乎更长时间处于捕食压力之下。捕获和计数生活在伯劳领土内外的普通蜥蜴种群的横断面数据显示出明显的季节差异：伯劳领土内，男性的比例低于女性；此外，在某些地区，蜥蜴种群中的男性数量与被sh虫刺穿的男性数量呈负相关。我们的研究结果表明，在这种特定的捕食者－猎物系统中，shrikes可能是蜥蜴种群动态的强大选择力。雄性捕食可能是由于成年雄性和雌性蜥蜴的行为不同引起的，即雄性更长的活动以及空间和避难所的使用差异。