Community ecology of African reptiles: historical perspective and a meta-analysis using null models

Community ecology and resource-partitioning patterns of African reptiles have been increasingly studied over the past 30 years. In this paper, I review these studies and provide a meta-analysis based on null models and Monte Carlo simulations (RA2 and RA3 algorithms) to compare patterns of resource partitioning among reptiles in tropical versus nontropical Africa. In general, studies on community ecology of African reptiles have had a strong impact on the global study of resource-partitioning patterns in ectotherms, with such authors as Robert Barbault and Eric Pianka being among the most famous having ever worked in Africa. Despite previous claims, in this paper I suggest that there is no true evidence that reptile biomass is depressed in tropical Africa in comparison with tropical regions of other continents. My null-model reanalysis of 32 independent study systems (twenty from tropical Africa and twelve from nontropical Africa) shows that resource-partitioning patterns are nearly always found in tropical assemblages of reptiles, although this cannot be said for nontropical assemblages of species. Microhabitat (especially for lizards) and food (especially for snakes) are the resource axes typically partitioned by African reptiles.