Benefits of thermal acclimation in a tropical aquatic ectotherm, the Arafura filesnake, Acrochordus arafurae

Physiological thermal responses of three Mexican snakes with distinct lifestyles

The impact of temperature on reptile physiology has been examined through two main parameters: locomotor performance and metabolic rates. Among reptiles, different species may respond to environmental temperatures in distinct ways, depending on their thermal sensitivity. Such variation can be linked to the ecological lifestyle of the species and needs to be taken into consideration when assessing the thermal influence on physiology. This is particularly relevant for snakes, which are a very functionally diverse group. In this study, our aim was to analyze the thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in three snake species from central Mexico (Crotalus polystictus, Conopsis lineata, and Thamnophis melanogaster), highlighting how it is influenced by their distinctive behavioral and ecological traits. We tested both physiological parameters in five thermal treatments: 15 °C, 25 °C, 30 °C, 33 °C, and 36 °C. Using the performance data, we developed thermal performance curves (TPCs) for each species and analyzed the RMR data using generalized linear mixed models. The optimal temperature for locomotion of C. polystictus falls near its critical thermal maximum, suggesting that it can maintain performance at high temperatures but with a narrow thermal safety margin. T. melanogaster exhibited the fastest swimming speeds and the highest mass-adjusted RMR. This aligns with our expectations since it is an active forager, a high energy demand mode. The three species have a wide performance breadth, which suggests that they are thermal generalists that can maintain performance over a wide interval of temperatures. This can be beneficial to C. lineata in its cold habitat, since such a characteristic has been found to allow some species to maintain adequate performance levels in suboptimal temperatures. RMR increased along with temperature, but the proportional surge was not uniform since thermal sensitivity measured through Q10 increased at the low and high thermal treatments. High Q10 at low temperatures could be an adaptation to maintain favorable performance in suboptimal temperatures, whereas high Q10 at high temperatures could facilitate physiological responses to heat stress. Overall, our results show different physiological adaptations of the three species to the environments they inhabit. Their different activity patterns and foraging habits are closely linked to these adaptations. Further studies of other populations with different climatic conditions would provide valuable information to complement our current understanding of the effect of environmental properties on snake physiology.

Diving in hot water: a meta-analytic review of how diving vertebrate ectotherms will fare in a warmer world

Diving ectothermic vertebrates are an important component of many aquatic ecosystems, but the threat of climate warming is particularly salient to this group. Dive durations typically decrease as water temperatures rise; yet, we lack an understanding of whether this trend is apparent in all diving ectotherms and how this group will fare under climate warming. We compiled data from 27 studies on 20 ectothermic vertebrate species to quantify the effect of temperature on dive durations. Using meta-analytic approaches, we show that, on average, dive durations decreased by 11% with every 1°C increase in water temperature. Larger increases in temperature (e.g. +3°C versus +8-9°C) exerted stronger effects on dive durations. Although species that respire bimodally are projected to be more resilient to the effects of temperature on dive durations than purely aerial breathers, we found no significant difference between these groups. Body mass had a weak impact on mean dive durations, with smaller divers being impacted by temperature more strongly. Few studies have examined thermal phenotypic plasticity (N=4) in diving ectotherms, and all report limited plasticity. Average water temperatures in marine and freshwater habitats are projected to increase between 1.5 and 4°C in the next century, and our data suggest that this magnitude of warming could translate to substantial decreases in dive durations, by approximately 16-44%. Together, these data shed light on an overlooked threat to diving ectothermic vertebrates and suggest that time available for underwater activities, such as predator avoidance and foraging, may be shortened under future warming.

Long-Term Pharmaceutical Contamination and Temperature Stress Disrupt Fish Behavior

Natural environments are subject to a range of anthropogenic stressors, with pharmaceutical pollution being among the fastest-growing agents of global change. However, despite wild animals living in complex multi-stressor environments, interactions between pharmaceutical exposure and other stressors remain poorly understood. Accordingly, we investigated effects of long-term exposure to the pervasive pharmaceutical contaminant fluoxetine (Prozac) and acute temperature stress on reproductive behaviors and activity levels in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Fish were exposed to environmentally realistic fluoxetine concentrations (measured average: 38 or 312 ng/L) or a solvent control for 15 months using a mesocosm system. Additionally, fish were subjected to one of three acute (24 h) temperature treatments: cold stress (18 °C), heat stress (32 °C), or a control (24 °C). We found no evidence for interactive effects of fluoxetine exposure and temperature stress on guppy behavior. However, both stressors had independent impacts. Fluoxetine exposure resulted in increased male coercive copulatory behavior, while fish activity levels were unaffected. Under cold-temperature stress, both sexes were less active and males exhibited less frequent reproductive behaviors. Our results demonstrate that long-term exposure to a common pharmaceutical pollutant and acute temperature stress alter fundamental fitness-related behaviors in fish, potentially shifting population dynamics in contaminated ecosystems.

Coming up for air: thermal-dependence of dive behaviours and metabolism in sea snakes

Cutaneous gas exchange allows some air-breathing diving ectotherms to supplement their pulmonary oxygen uptake, which may allow prolongation of dives and an increased capacity to withstand anthropogenic and natural threatening processes that increase submergence times. However, little is known of the interplay between metabolism, bimodal oxygen uptake and activity levels across thermal environments in diving ectotherms. Here, we show in two species of sea snake (spine-bellied sea snake; Hydrophis curtus and elegant sea snake; H. elegans) that increasing temperature elevates surfacing rates, increases total oxygen consumption, and decreases dive durations. The majority of dives observed in both species remained within estimated maximal aerobic limits. While cutaneous gas exchange accounted for a substantial proportion of total oxygen consumption (up to 23%), unexpectedly it was independent of water temperature and activity levels, suggesting a diffusion-limited mechanism. Our findings demonstrate that rising water temperature and a limited capability to up-regulate cutaneous oxygen uptake may compromise the proficiency with which sea snakes perform prolonged dives. This may hinder their capacity to withstand ongoing anthropogenic activities like trawl fishing, and increase their susceptibility to surface predation as their natural environments continue to warm.

Diving in a warming world: the thermal sensitivity and plasticity of diving performance in juvenile estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus)

Air-breathing, diving ectotherms are a crucial component of the biodiversity and functioning of aquatic ecosystems, but these organisms may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change on submergence times. Ectothermic dive capacity is thermally sensitive, with dive durations significantly reduced by acute increases in water temperature; it is unclear whether diving performance can acclimate/acclimatize in response to long-term exposure to elevated water temperatures. We assessed the thermal sensitivity and plasticity of 'fright-dive' capacity in juvenile estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus; n = 11). Crocodiles were exposed to one of three long-term thermal treatments, designed to emulate water temperatures under differing climate change scenarios (i.e. current summer, 28°C; 'moderate' climate warming, 31.5°C; 'high' climate warming, 35°C). Dive trials were conducted in a temperature-controlled tank across a range of water temperatures. Dive durations were independent of thermal acclimation treatment, indicating a lack of thermal acclimation response. Acute increases in water temperature resulted in significantly shorter dive durations, with mean submergence times effectively halving with every 3.5°C increase in water temperature (Q 10 0.17, P < 0.001). Maximal dive performances, however, were found to be thermally insensitive across the temperature range of 28-35°C. These results suggest that C. porosus have a limited or non-existent capacity to thermally acclimate sustained 'fright-dive' performance. If the findings here are applicable to other air-breathing, diving ectotherms, the functional capacity of these organisms will probably be compromised under climate warming.

Aquatic and terrestrial locomotor performance of juvenile three-keeled pond turtles acclimated to different temperatures

Locomotion is important for behaviors such as foraging and predator avoidance, and is influenced by temperature in ectotherms. To investigate this in turtles, we acclimated juvenile Chinese three-keeled pond turtles, Chinemys reevesii, under three thermal conditions for four weeks. Subsequently, we measured three locomotor performances (swimming, running, and righting) at different test temperatures. Overall, swimming and running speeds of turtles increased with increasing test temperature in the range of 13-33°C and decreased at higher test temperatures, whereas righting time decreased with increasing test temperature in the range of 13-33°C and slightly increased at higher test temperatures. Acclimation temperature affected both swimming and running speeds, with the high temperature-acclimated turtles swimming and running faster than low temperature-acclimated turtles, but it did not affect righting performance. From the constructed thermal performance curves, between-group differences were found in the estimated maximal speed (swimming and running) and optimal temperature, but not in the performance breadth. Juvenile turtles acclimated to relatively warm temperatures had better performances than those acclimated to cool temperatures, supporting the “hotter is better” hypothesis. A similar acclimatory change was found during aquatic and terrestrial locomotion in juvenile C. reevesii. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that animals from less thermally variable environments should have a greater acclimatory ability than those from more variable environments, because turtles were acclimated under aquatic environments with no thermal variability.

Oxygen transport is not compromised at high temperature in pythons

To evaluate whether the 'oxygen and capacity limited thermal tolerance' model (OCLTT) applies to an air-breathing ectothermic vertebrate, we measured oxygen uptake (V̇(O₂)), cardiac performance and arterial blood gases during a progressive rise of temperature from 30 to 40°C in the snake Python regius. V̇(O₂) of fasting snakes increased exponentially with temperature whereas V̇(O₂) of digesting snakes at high temperatures plateaued at a level 3- to 4-fold above fasting. The high and sustained aerobic metabolism over the entire temperature range was supported by pronounced tachycardia at all temperatures, and both fasting and digesting snakes maintained a normal acid-base balance without any indication of anaerobic metabolism. All snakes also maintained high arterial PO2, even at temperatures close to the upper lethal temperature. Thus, there is no evidence of a reduced capacity for oxygen transport at high temperatures in either fasting or digesting snakes, suggesting that the upper thermal tolerance of this species is limited by other factors.