Fat reserve and body condition variation in Argentine black and white tegus: native-invasive comparisons and environmental drivers in Florida

Invasive species impose major ecological and economic costs on ecosystems and countries where introduced. To effectively manage Argentine black and white tegus (Salvator merianae) within their invasive range, it is important that management actions are based on species' biology. We estimated tegu percentage fat and body condition in native (Cordoba, Argentina) and non-native (South Florida, United States) populations and identified biological, temporal, and environmental variables that influence tegu body condition in South Florida. Large adult tegus in Cordoba had larger fat reserves than tegus in South Florida. However, body condition values were highly similar between the native and non-native range throughout the year, showing a well-adapted tegu population to South Florida environmental conditions. Generalized additive mixed models (size estimate = 2.67) showed very strong (p-value < 0.001) to moderate (p-value