The town lizard and the country lizard: urban wall lizards have more bold and variable escape behaviours than non-urban wall lizards

Abstract Urban areas are densely populated with humans and have a high proportion of impervious surfaces that form our shelters and roadways. Animals adjust many aspects of their lives to live in cities and near humans, especially their behaviour. Predator escape behaviour is an important aspect of behaviour because avoiding predation is essential for future fitness. We examined the escape behaviour of lizards in an ancient town (Taormina, Sicily, Italy) made of concrete and stone compared to lizards in a nearby undeveloped area on a volcano (Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy). We also considered if refuge distance, temperature, and substrate type affected their escape decisions. Lizards in the town started from positions farther from refuge and allowed much closer approaches before fleeing from an approaching human. Town lizards were less likely to flee into the closest refuge and stopped fleeing outside of a refuge 30% of the time. Lizards in the town faced a wider variety of substrates and temperatures than lizards outside the town, yet any effects of substrate or temperature on fleeing decisions were secondary to the effect of site. Our results suggest that lizards living with humans in urban areas face substantially different ecological and environmental pressures that result in more bold and variable behaviour than lizards living in nearby non-urban areas.