Důležitou součástí potravy kanárských ještěrek rodu Gallotia jsou dužnaté plody rostlin. Omnivorní ještěrky tak působí jako významní distributoři rostlinných semen a mohou výrazně ovlivnit složení ostrovních rostlinných společenstev. Ukázalo se, že na ostrově Tenerife může veleještěrka modroskvrnná (G. galloti) přispět k šíření nejen původních endemických druhů rostlin, např. mořeny křovinaté (Rubia fruticosa), ale i nepůvodních druhů – např. opuncie Dilleniovy (Opuntia dillenii) a opuncie mexické (O. ficus-indica). Problém je v tom, že invazní opuncie jsou dnes pro endemickou flóru Kanárských ostrovů vážnou hrozbou.

Citovaná a použitá literatura:

CASTANET, J.; BAEZ, M. Data on age and longevity in Gallotia galloti (Sauria, Lacertidae) assessed by skeletochronology. Herpetological Journal, 1988, 1.06: 218-222.

NOGALES, Manuel; DELGADO, Juan D.; MEDINA, Félix M. Shrikes, lizards and Lycium intricatum (Solanaceae) fruits: a case of indirect seed dispersal on an oceanic island (Alegranza, Canary Islands). Journal of Ecology, 1998, 866-871.

NOGALES, Manuel, et al. Contrasting selective pressures on seed traits of two congeneric species by their main native guilds of dispersers on islands. Plos one, 2013, 8.5: e63266.

NOGALES, Manuel; HERNÁNDEZ, Elizabeth C.; VALDÉS, Francisco. Seed dispersal by common ravens Corvus corax among island habitats (Canarian Archipelago). Ecoscience, 1999, 6.1: 56-61.

NOGALES, Manuel, et al. Effect of native and alien vertebrate frugivores on seed viability and germination patterns of Rubia fruticosa (Rubiaceae) in the eastern Canary Islands. Functional Ecology, 2005, 429-436.

NOGALES, Manuel, et al. Germination patterns throughout an insular altitudinal gradient: the case of the Macaronesian endemic plant Rubia fruticosa Ait.(Rubiaceae) in El Hierro (Canary Islands). Flora-Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants, 2009, 204.7: 543-548.

PADRÓN, Benigno, et al. Integration of invasive Opuntia spp. by native and alien seed dispersers in the Mediterranean area and the Canary Islands. Biological invasions, 2011, 13.4: 831-844.

VALIDO, Alfredo; NOGALES, Manuel. Frugivory and seed dispersal by the lizard Gallotia galloti (Lacertidae) in a xeric habitat of the Canary Islands. Oikos, 1994, 403-411.

Fleshy plant fruits are an important part of the diet of Canary Islands lizards of the genus Gallotia. These large omnivorous lizards thus act as important dispersers of plant seeds and can significantly influence the composition of the island plant communities. It has been shown that on the island of Tenerife the Gallot’s Lizard (G. galloti) can contribute to the spread of not only na­tive endemic plant species (e. g. Rubia fruticosa) but also alien species (e. g. Opuntia dillenii and O. ficus-indica). The problem is that invasive prickly pear cacti (Opuntia) are today a serious threat to the endemic flora of the Canary Islands.