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González-Morales JC, Rivera-Rea J, Moreno-Rueda G, Plasman M, Quintana E, Bastiaans E. Seasonal and altitudinal variation in dorsal skin reflectance and thermic rates in a high-altitude montane lizard. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2024; 68:1421-1435. [PMID: 38652160 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-024-02677-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Temperature is one of the most important factors in the life histories of ectotherms, as body temperature has an undeniable effect on growth, activity, and reproduction. Lizards have a wide variety of strategies to acquire and maintain body temperature in an optimal range. The "Thermal Melanism Hypothesis" proposes that individuals with lower skin reflectance can heat up faster as a result of absorbing more solar radiation compared to lighter conspecifics. Therefore, having a darker coloration might be advantageous in cold habitats. Dorsal skin reflectance has been found to change rapidly with body temperature in several lizard species, and it can also vary over longer, seasonal time scales. These variations may be important in thermoregulation, especially in lizards that inhabit areas with a large temperature variation during the year. Here, we study how dorsal reflectance fluctuates with body temperature and varies among seasons. We compared dorsal skin reflectance at three body temperature treatments, and measured thermal rates (i.e., heat and cool rate, thermic lapse, and net heat gain) by elevation (2500-4100 m) and seasons (spring, summer, and autumn) in the mesquite lizard, Sceloporus grammicus. Our results show that lizards were darker at high elevations and during the months with the lowest environmental temperatures. The rate of obtaining and retaining heat also varied during the year and was highest during the reproductive season. Our results indicate that the variation of dorsal skin reflectance and thermal rates follows a complex pattern in lizard populations and is affected by both elevation and season.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Carlos González-Morales
- Centro Universitario Amecameca, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Estado de México, Instituto Literario No. 100, Col. Centro, Toluca, CP 50000, México.
| | - Jimena Rivera-Rea
- Doctorado en Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Instituto Literario No. 100, Col. Centro, Toluca, Estado de México, CP 50000, México
| | - Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Avenida Fuentenueva S/N, Granda, E-18071, España
| | - Melissa Plasman
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, 04510, México
| | - Erendira Quintana
- Centro Universitario Amecameca, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Estado de México, Instituto Literario No. 100, Col. Centro, Toluca, CP 50000, México
| | - Elizabeth Bastiaans
- Biology Departament, State University of New York at Oneonta, 108 Ravine Parkway, Oneonta, NY, 13820, USA
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2
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Plasman M, Gonzalez-Voyer A, Bautista A, Díaz DE LA Vega-Pérez AH. Flexibility in thermal requirements: a comparative analysis of the wide-spread lizard genus Sceloporus. Integr Zool 2024. [PMID: 38880782 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Adaptation or acclimation of thermal requirements to environmental conditions can reduce thermoregulation costs and increase fitness, especially in ectotherms, which rely heavily on environmental temperatures for thermoregulation. Insight into how thermal niches have shaped thermal requirements across evolutionary history may help predict the survival of species during climate change. The lizard genus Sceloporus has a widespread distribution and inhabits an ample variety of habitats. We evaluated the effects of geographical gradients (i.e. elevation and latitude) and local environmental temperatures on thermal requirements (i.e. preferred body temperature, active body temperature in the field, and critical thermal limits) of Sceloporus species using published and field-collected data and performing phylogenetic comparative analyses. To contrast macro- and micro-evolutional patterns, we also performed intra-specific analyses when sufficient reports existed for a species. We found that preferred body temperature increased with elevation, whereas body temperature in the field decreased with elevation and increased with local environmental temperatures. Critical thermal limits were not related to the geographic gradient or environmental temperatures. The apparent lack of relation of thermal requirements to geographic gradient may increase vulnerability to extinction due to climate change. However, local and temporal variations in thermal landscape determine thermoregulation opportunities and may not be well represented by geographic gradient and mean environmental temperatures. Results showed that Sceloporus lizards are excellent thermoregulators, have wide thermal tolerance ranges, and the preferred temperature was labile. Our results suggest that Sceloporus lizards can adjust to different thermal landscapes, highlighting opportunities for continuous survival in changing thermal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Plasman
- Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Alejandro Gonzalez-Voyer
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Amando Bautista
- Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Aníbal H Díaz DE LA Vega-Pérez
- Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencias, y Tecnologías-Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
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3
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Domínguez-Guerrero SF, Esquerré D, Burress ED, Maciel-Mata CA, Alencar LRV, Muñoz MM. Viviparity imparts a macroevolutionary signature of ecological opportunity in the body size of female Liolaemus lizards. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4966. [PMID: 38862522 PMCID: PMC11167029 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49464-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Viviparity evolved ~115 times across squamate reptiles, facilitating the colonization of cold habitats, where oviparous species are scarce or absent. Whether the ecological opportunity furnished by such colonization reconfigures phenotypic diversity and accelerates evolution is unclear. We investigated the association between viviparity and patterns and rates of body size evolution in female Liolaemus lizards, the most species-rich tetrapod genus from temperate regions. Here, we discover that viviparous species evolve ~20% larger optimal body sizes than their oviparous relatives, but exhibit similar rates of body size evolution. Through a causal modeling approach, we find that viviparity indirectly influences body size evolution through shifts in thermal environment. Accordingly, the colonization of cold habitats favors larger body sizes in viviparous species, reconfiguring body size diversity in Liolaemus. The catalyzing influence of viviparity on phenotypic evolution arises because it unlocks access to otherwise inaccessible sources of ecological opportunity, an outcome potentially repeated across the tree of life.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Damien Esquerré
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - Edward D Burress
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 06511, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
| | - Carlos A Maciel-Mata
- Predio Intensivo de Manejo de Vida Silvestre X-Plora Reptilia, 43350, Metztitlán, Hidalgo, México
| | - Laura R V Alencar
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 06511, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Martha M Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 06511, New Haven, CT, USA
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4
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Weil SS, Gallien L, Nicolaï MPJ, Lavergne S, Börger L, Allen WL. Body size and life history shape the historical biogeography of tetrapods. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1467-1479. [PMID: 37604875 PMCID: PMC10482685 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02150-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal across biogeographic barriers is a key process determining global patterns of biodiversity as it allows lineages to colonize and diversify in new realms. Here we demonstrate that past biogeographic dispersal events often depended on species' traits, by analysing 7,009 tetrapod species in 56 clades. Biogeographic models incorporating body size or life history accrued more statistical support than trait-independent models in 91% of clades. In these clades, dispersal rates increased by 28-32% for lineages with traits favouring successful biogeographic dispersal. Differences between clades in the effect magnitude of life history on dispersal rates are linked to the strength and type of biogeographic barriers and intra-clade trait variability. In many cases, large body sizes and fast life histories facilitate dispersal success. However, species with small bodies and/or slow life histories, or those with average traits, have an advantage in a minority of clades. Body size-dispersal relationships were related to a clade's average body size and life history strategy. These results provide important new insight into how traits have shaped the historical biogeography of tetrapod lineages and may impact present-day and future biogeographic dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah-Sophie Weil
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, University Savoie Mont Blanc, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
| | - Laure Gallien
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, University Savoie Mont Blanc, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Michaël P J Nicolaï
- Biology Department, Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sébastien Lavergne
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, University Savoie Mont Blanc, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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5
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Deme GG, Liang X, Okoro JO, Bhattarai P, Sun B, Malann YD, Martin RA. Female lizards ( Eremias argus) reverse Bergmann's rule across altitude. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10393. [PMID: 37554397 PMCID: PMC10405246 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of body size within and among species is predicted to be influenced by multifarious environmental factors. However, the specific drivers of body size variation have remained difficult to understand because of the wide range of proximate factors that covary with ectotherm body sizes across populations with varying local environmental conditions. Here, we used female Eremias argus lizards collected from different populations across their wide range in China, and constructed linear mixed models to assess how climatic conditions and/or available resources at different altitudes shape the geographical patterns of lizard body size across altitude. Lizard populations showed significant differences in body size across altitudes. Furthermore, we found that climatic and seasonal changes along the altitudinal gradient also explained variations in body size among populations. Specifically, body size decreased with colder and drier environmental conditions at high altitudes, reversing Bergmann's rule. Limited resources at high altitudes, measured by the low vegetative index, may also constrain body size. Therefore, our study demonstrates that multifarious environmental factors could strongly influence the intraspecific variation in organisms' body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gideon Gywa Deme
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Department of BiologyCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
| | - Xixi Liang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | | | - Prakash Bhattarai
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources ResearchChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Baojun Sun
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yoila David Malann
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Abuja, Federal Capital TerritoryAbujaNigeria
| | - Ryan A. Martin
- Department of BiologyCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
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6
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Yu W, Zhu Z, Zhao X, Cui S, Liu Z, Zeng Z. Altitudinal variation in life-history features of a Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau lizard. Curr Zool 2023; 69:284-293. [PMID: 37351291 PMCID: PMC10284057 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 09/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental changes along an altitudinal gradient can facilitate the differentiation of life-history features in ectothermic species, but little attention has been devoted to the reciprocal influence of altitude and alpine slope directionality on life-history variation. According to life-history theory, increased environmental stress causes a change in reproductive allocation from number to quality of offspring, as well as a stronger trade-off between size and number of offspring. To clarify the influence of environmental pressures on the life-history features of the Qinghai toad-headed lizard Phrynocephalus vlangalii along an altitudinal cline, we surveyed late pregnant females from 3 populations of low (2,600 m), middle (3,400 m), and high (3,600 m) elevations in the Dangjin Mountain of Gansu, China from July to October 2019, and compared their inter-population differences in maternal body size, reproductive characteristics, offspring growth, and locomotor performance. Because of lower temperatures, higher humidity, and lower light intensity caused by slope aspect and altitude, the middle-altitude region experienced stronger environmental stress than the high- and low-altitude regions. Our results showed that females were larger at middle- and high-altitude sites and smaller at the low-altitude site, following Bergmann's rule. We also found that females from low-altitude population gave birth earlier than those from the middle and high altitudes. Our results showed a shift in the offspring size-number trade-off of P. vlangalii in response to colder and harsher environments, with lizards from the alpine steppe (i.e. the middle- and high-altitude habitats) producing fewer but larger offspring than those from the warm steppe (i.e. the low-altitude habitat). Low-altitude juveniles grew faster than high-altitude ones, but at the same rates as middle-altitude juveniles. This result demonstrates that the growth of P. vlangalii was associated with temperature and light intensity. Our findings contribute to enhancing our understanding of the altitudinal variation in life-history features of plateau ectotherms and their phenotypic plasticity or local adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Yu
- College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zeyu Zhu
- College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xiaolong Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- The Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application, School of Life Science, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, Hebei, China
| | - Shuang Cui
- College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Zhensheng Liu
- College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
- Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, State Forestry Administration, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Zhigao Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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7
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Liang T, Dai W, Zhang Z, Bempah G, Shi L, Lu C. Altitudinal gradients and body size variation among Chinese lizards in different terrains. J Zool (1987) 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- T. Liang
- Wildlife Conservation and Utilization Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu China
| | - W. Dai
- Wildlife Conservation and Utilization Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu China
| | - Z. Zhang
- Wildlife Conservation and Utilization Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu China
| | - G. Bempah
- Wildlife Conservation and Utilization Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu China
| | - L. Shi
- College of Life Sciences Xinjiang Agricultural University Urumqi Xinjiang China
| | - C. Lu
- Wildlife Conservation and Utilization Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing Jiangsu China
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8
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Elevation and blood traits in the mesquite lizard: Are patterns repeatable between mountains? Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 276:111338. [PMID: 36336309 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.111338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Revised: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Ecogeographical patterns describe predictable variation in phenotypic traits between ecological communities. For example, high-altitude animals are expected to show elevated hematological values as an adaptation to the lower oxygen pressure. Mountains act like ecological islands and therefore are considered natural laboratories. However, the majority of ecophysiological studies on blood traits lack replication that would allow us to infer if the pattern reported is a local event or whether it is a widespread pattern resulting from larger-scale ecological processes. In lizards, in fact, the increase of hematological values at high altitudes has received mixed support. Here, for the first time, we compare blood traits in lizards along elevational gradients with replication. We tested the repeatability of blood traits in mesquite lizards between different elevations in three different mountains from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. We measured hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and erythrocyte size in blood samples of low, medium, and high-elevation lizards. We obtained similar elevational patterns between mountains, but the blood traits differed among mountains. Middle-altitude populations had greater oxygen-carrying capacity than lizards from low and high altitudes. The differences found between mountain systems could be the result of phenotypic plasticity or genetic differentiation as a consequence of abiotic factors not considered.
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9
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Calsbeek R. Ecological rules for global species distribution also predict performance variation in Ironman triathletes. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0283282. [PMID: 37163562 PMCID: PMC10171585 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Bergmann's and Allen's rules predict changes in body size and appendage length across temperature gradients for species with broad geographic distributions. Larger bodies and longer limbs facilitate cooling whereas smaller bodies and compact limbs limit heat loss. Although these patterns are highly repeatable (hence "rules" of ecology) the patterns and underlying mechanisms are less-well understood in humans. Here I show that variation in running performance among human male triathletes is consistent with both Bergmann's and Allen's rules. Males (but not females) with relatively larger body size and longer limbs performed better at hot compared to cold race venues and vice-versa. Consistent with results in other taxa, sex-specificity may reflect selection for sexual dimorphism. Results suggest that ecological patterns detected over large-spatial scales may arise from fine-scale variation in locomotor performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Calsbeek
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States of America
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10
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Abstract
General rules are useful tools for understanding how organisms evolve. Cope’s rule (tendency to increase in size over evolutionary time) and Bergmann’s rule (tendency to grow to larger sizes in cooler climates) both relate to body size, an important factor that affects the biology, ecology, and physiology of organisms. These rules are well studied in endotherms but remain poorly understood among ectotherms. Here, we show that paleoclimatic changes strongly shaped the trajectory of body size evolution in tetraodontiform fishes. Their body size evolution is explained by both Cope’s and Bergmann’s rules, highlighting the impact of paleoclimatic changes on aquatic organisms, which rely on their environment for temperature regulation and are likely more susceptible than terrestrial vertebrates to climatic changes. Body size is an important species trait, correlating with life span, fecundity, and other ecological factors. Over Earth’s geological history, climate shifts have occurred, potentially shaping body size evolution in many clades. General rules attempting to summarize body size evolution include Bergmann’s rule, which states that species reach larger sizes in cooler environments and smaller sizes in warmer environments, and Cope’s rule, which poses that lineages tend to increase in size over evolutionary time. Tetraodontiform fishes (including pufferfishes, boxfishes, and ocean sunfishes) provide an extraordinary clade to test these rules in ectotherms owing to their exemplary fossil record and the great disparity in body size observed among extant and fossil species. We examined Bergmann’s and Cope’s rules in this group by combining phylogenomic data (1,103 exon loci from 185 extant species) with 210 anatomical characters coded from both fossil and extant species. We aggregated data layers on paleoclimate and body size from the species examined, and inferred a set of time-calibrated phylogenies using tip-dating approaches for downstream comparative analyses of body size evolution by implementing models that incorporate paleoclimatic information. We found strong support for a temperature-driven model in which increasing body size over time is correlated with decreasing oceanic temperatures. On average, extant tetraodontiforms are two to three times larger than their fossil counterparts, which otherwise evolved during periods of warmer ocean temperatures. These results provide strong support for both Bergmann’s and Cope’s rules, trends that are less studied in marine fishes compared to terrestrial vertebrates and marine invertebrates.
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11
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Slavenko A, Dror L, Camaiti M, Farquhar JE, Shea GM, Chapple DG, Meiri S. Evolution of diel activity patterns in skinks (Squamata: Scincidae), the world's second-largest family of terrestrial vertebrates. Evolution 2022; 76:1195-1208. [PMID: 35355258 PMCID: PMC9322454 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Many animals have strict diel activity patterns, with unique adaptations for either diurnal or nocturnal activity. Diel activity is phylogenetically conserved, yet evolutionary shifts in diel activity occur and lead to important changes in an organism's morphology, physiology, and behavior. We use phylogenetic comparative methods to examine the evolutionary history of diel activity in skinks, one of the largest families of terrestrial vertebrates. We examine how diel patterns are associated with microhabitat, ambient temperatures, and morphology. We found support for a nondiurnal ancestral skink. Strict diurnality in crown group skinks only evolved during the Paleogene. Nocturnal habits are associated with fossorial activity, limb reduction and loss, and warm temperatures. Our results shed light on the evolution of diel activity patterns in a large radiation of terrestrial ectotherms and reveal how both intrinsic biotic and extrinsic abiotic factors can shape the evolution of animal activity patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Slavenko
- School of BiosciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldSouth YorkshireUnited Kingdom
| | - Liat Dror
- School of ZoologyTel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
| | - Marco Camaiti
- School of Biological SciencesMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Jules E. Farquhar
- School of Biological SciencesMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Glenn M. Shea
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science B01University of SydneyNew South WalesAustralia,Australian Museum Research InstituteThe Australian MuseumSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - David G. Chapple
- School of Biological SciencesMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Shai Meiri
- School of ZoologyTel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael,The Steinhardt Museum of Natural HistoryTel AvivIsrael
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12
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Lele A, Garrod HM, Ferguson E, Azahara Prieto Gil C, Ellis M. Variation in avian morphology along a short tropical elevational gradient. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Abhimanyu Lele
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology University of Chicago Chicago Illinois USA
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center The Field Museum Chicago Illinois USA
- Third Millennium Alliance Quito Pichincha Ecuador
| | | | | | | | - Mike Ellis
- Third Millennium Alliance Quito Pichincha Ecuador
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Tulane University Louisiana USA
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13
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ALTUNIŞIK A, YILDIZ MZ, ÜÇEŞ F, Bozkurt MA, SÖMER M. Altitude impacts body size but not age in a gecko. CAN J ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Animals' age and size-related life-history traits are influenced by a variety of factors. In connection with climate, the effect of altitude on demographic parameters may differ among different populations of the same species. In the present study, it was analyzed that how body size and longevity of the Asia Minor thin-toed gecko, Mediodactylus heterocercus (Blanford, 1874), vary along with an elevational gradient in Turkey. For this purpose, a total of 138 (52 males, 75 females, and 11 young) M. heterocercus specimens from 11 different populations were analyzed. Populations at inter-mediate altitude had shorter lifespans than in both low and high elevations (marginal environments). Furthermore, the adult life expectancy (ESP), which indicates the expected lifespan of individuals having sexual maturity, was higher in high altitude populations (ESP: 6.59 years) than in intermediate populations (ESP: 5.40 years) and low altitude populations (ESP: 6.01 years). The results of the study suggest that Asia Minor thin-toed geckos' body size increases with altitude, but their age does not.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdullah ALTUNIŞIK
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, 175650, Biology Department, Rize, Turkey, 53100
| | | | - Fatma ÜÇEŞ
- Adıyaman University, Department of Biology, Adıyaman, Turkey
| | | | - Mehtap SÖMER
- Adıyaman University, Department of Biology, Adıyaman, Turkey
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14
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Gotcha N, Cuthbert RN, Machekano H, Nyamukondiwa C. Density-dependent ecosystem service delivery under shifting temperatures by dung beetles. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 807:150575. [PMID: 34634717 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Increases in the frequency and magnitude of suboptimal temperatures as a result of climate change are subjecting insects to unprecedented stresses. This may negatively affect their fitness and the efficiency of their ecosystem service provision. Dung beetles are ecosystem service providers: through feeding on and burying dung, they facilitate nutrient recycling, secondary seed dispersal, parasite control, soil bioturbation and dung decomposition. As such, prediction of how dung beetles respond to multiple anthropogenic environmental changes is critical for the conservation of ecosystem services. Here, we quantified ecosystem services via dung utilisation and dung ball production in three telecoprid species: Allogymnopleurus indigaceous, Scarabaeus zambezianus and Khepher prodigiosus. We examined ecosystem service efficiency factorially under different beetle densities towards different dung masses and under three temperature treatments (21 °C, 28 °C and 35 °C). Khepher prodigiosus, exhibited greatest dung utilisation efficiency overall across dung masses, compared to both S. zambezianus and A. indigaceous. Dung removal was exhibited under all the tested temperatures by all tested species, and therefore the sub-optimal temperatures employed here did not fully inhibit ecosystem service delivery. However, emergent effects among temperatures, beetle species and beetle density further affected removal efficiency: S. zambezianus and A. indigaceous utilisation increased with both warming and beetle density, whereas K. prodigiosus performance was less temperature- and density-dependent. Beetles also tended to exhibit positive density-dependence as dung supply increased. The numbers of dung balls produced differed across species, and increased with temperature and densities, with S. zambezianus producing significantly most balls overall. Our study provides novel evidence for differential density-dependent ecosystem service delivery among species across stressful temperature regimes and emergent effects for dung mass utilisation. This information is essential for biodiversity-ecosystem-function and is critical for the conservation of functionally efficacious species, with implications for natural capital conservation policy in rapidly changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nonofo Gotcha
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - Ross N Cuthbert
- GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany; School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, BT9 5DL Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Honest Machekano
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - Casper Nyamukondiwa
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana.
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15
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Krah FS, Hagge J, Schreiber J, Brandl R, Müller J, Bässler C. Fungal fruit body assemblages are tougher in harsh microclimates. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1633. [PMID: 35102234 PMCID: PMC8803873 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05715-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Forest species are affected by macroclimate, however, the microclimatic variability can be more extreme and change through climate change. Fungal fruiting community composition was affected by microclimatic differences. Here we ask whether differences in the fruiting community can be explained by morphological traits of the fruit body, which may help endure harsh conditions. We used a dead wood experiment and macrofungal fruit body size, color, and toughness. We exposed logs of two host tree species under closed and experimentally opened forest canopies in a random-block design for four years and identified all visible fruit bodies of two fungal lineages (Basidio- and Ascomycota). We found a consistently higher proportion of tough-fleshed species in harsher microclimates under open canopies. Although significant, responses of community fruit body size and color lightness were inconsistent across lineages. We suggest the toughness-protection hypothesis, stating that tough-fleshed fruit bodies protect from microclimatic extremes by reducing dehydration. Our study suggests that the predicted increase of microclimatic harshness with climate change will likely decrease the presence of soft-fleshed fruit bodies. Whether harsh microclimates also affect the mycelium of macrofungi with different fruit body morphology would complement our findings and increase predictability under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franz-Sebastian Krah
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Conservation Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Jonas Hagge
- Forest Nature Conservation, Northwest German Forest Research Institute, Hann. Münden, Germany
- Forest Nature Conservation, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jasper Schreiber
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Conservation Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Roland Brandl
- Department of Ecology, Philips University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jörg Müller
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Grafenau, Germany
| | - Claus Bässler
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Conservation Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Grafenau, Germany
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16
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Variation in size and shape sexual dimorphism in the Sceloporus scalaris species group (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) from the Transvolcanic Belt of Mexico. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
We attempted to identify the factors influencing size and shape dimorphism between sexes, as well as among populations and species in the Sceloporus scalaris group (Sceloporus aeneus, S. scalaris, S. bicanthalis and S. subniger). Our analysis focused on five morphological characteristics: snout–vent length, head length, head width, forearm length and tibia length. The effect of environmental variables (precipitation and temperature) on these variables was also tested. We found differences in morphological traits between sexes, and among populations of the same species. The oviparous species (S. aeneus and S. scalaris) were larger in overall body size than the viviparous species (S. bicanthalis and S. subniger). Differences in overall body size among populations were recorded only in S. aeneus and S. scalaris. Male-biased sexual size dimorphism occurred in oviparous but not viviparous lizards (except for one population of S. bicanthalis). An absence of sexual size dimorphism was also recorded in S. subniger and some populations of the remaining species. Two different shape patterns were found; the first was female-biased with larger relative body length in almost all populations, which could be explained by fecundity, and the second was male-biased with relatively larger head and limbs in a few populations, which may be explained by sexual selection. The patterns of sexual size and shape dimorphism show that environment, rather than phylogeny, may be determining the extent of sexual dimorphism. These types of studies show the importance of an integrated evaluation of interpopulation and interspecies variation to determine the factors that generate sexual dimorphism.
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17
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Şahin MK, Kuyucu AC. Thermal biology of two sympatric Lacertid lizards (Lacerta diplochondrodes and Parvilacerta parva) from Western Anatolia. J Therm Biol 2021; 101:103094. [PMID: 34879912 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.103094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Sympatric lizard species present convenient models for studying differentiation in thermal behavior and the role of morphological differences in their thermal biology. Here we studied the thermal biology of two sympatric lizard species which occur sympatrically in the Phrygian Valley of Western Anatolia. These two species differ in body size, with Lacerta diplochondrodes being larger than Parvilacerta parva. The surface body temperatures of the individuals belonging to both species were recorded when active in the field. Additionally, several environmental parameters including solar radiation, substrate temperature, air temperature and wind speed were monitored to investigate the relative effects of these abiotic parameters on the thermal biology of the two species. The surface body temperature and temperature excess (difference between body and substrate temperature) of the two species, while being relatively close to each other, showed seasonal differences. Solar radiation, substrate temperature and air temperature were the main factors influencing their thermal biology. Additionally, although body size did not have a direct effect on body temperature or temperature excess, the interaction between body size and solar radiation on temperature excess was significant. In conclusion, our study partially supports the conservation of body temperature of related lizard species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Kürşat Şahin
- Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University, Department of Biology, Kamil Ozdag Faculty of Science, Karaman, Turkey.
| | - Arda Cem Kuyucu
- Hacettepe University, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ankara, Turkey.
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18
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Taxonomic scale dependency of Bergmann’s patterns: a cross-scale comparison of hawkmoths and birds along a tropical elevational gradient. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467421000432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
AbstractBergmann’s rule predicts a larger body size for endothermic organisms in colder environments. The contrasting results from previous studies may be due to the differences in taxonomic (intraspecific, interspecific and community) and spatial (latitudinal vs elevational) scales. We compared Bergmann’s patterns for endotherms (Aves) and ectotherms (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) along the same 2.6 km elevational transect in the eastern Himalayas. Using a large data spanning 3,302 hawkmoths (76 morpho-species) and 15,746 birds (245 species), we compared the patterns at the intraspecific (hawkmoths only), interspecific and community scales. Hawkmoths exhibited a positive Bergmann’s pattern at the intraspecific and abundance-weighted community scale. Contrary to this, birds exhibited a strong converse Bergmann’s pattern at interspecific and community scales, both with and without abundance. Overall, our results indicate that incorporation of information on intraspecific variation and/or species relative abundances influences the results to a large extent. The multiplicity of patterns at a single location provides the opportunity to disentangle the relative contribution of individual- and species-level processes by integrating data across multiple nested taxonomic scales for the same taxa. We suggest that future studies of Bergmann’s patterns should explicitly address taxonomic and spatial scale dependency, with species relative abundance and intraspecific trait variation as essential ingredients especially at short elevational scales.
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Miranda-Calle AB, Pacheco LF, Aparicio J, Méndez-De la Cruz FR. Thermoregulation of Liolaemus aparicioi (Iguania: Liolaemidae) along a 1000 m elevational gradient in La Paz Valley, La Paz, Bolivia. J Therm Biol 2021; 99:102940. [PMID: 34420606 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.102940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Lizard species have diverse behavioral and physiological responses to thermo-environmental conditions, which allow them to inhabit a broad range of latitudes and elevations. Because the availability of suitable thermal resources is limited and more variable at high-elevation environments than at lower elevations, we expect high-elevation lizards to be constrained in their thermoregulation relative to lizards at lower elevations by the fewer available thermal resources to reach optimal temperatures (colder environment). We studied the thermal biology of an endemic and Critically Endangered lizard, Liolaemus aparicioi, to assess its thermal responses along a 1000 m elevational gradient in La Paz Valley from May to August of 2015 (dry season). We took field body and microhabitat temperatures at capture sites (substrate and air above ground), and body size (snout-vent length and mass) of individuals at Taypichullo (3000 m asl), Gran Jardín de la Revolución Municipal Park (3500 m asl), and Taucachi (4000 m asl) localities. Operative temperatures were taken from calibrated models deployed in different available microhabitats. Preferred temperatures and thermal tolerance limits were determined in laboratory settings for lizards from each locality. Field body, microhabitat, and operative temperatures decreased with increasing elevation and differed between sexes. Lizards at the high elevation locality had the lowest thermoregulatory efficiency as compared with the mid and lower elevation localities. In laboratory measurements, while the preferred temperatures varied between sexes, pooled preferred temperatures and thermal tolerances were similar in all localities. Although thermal resources at high elevation can limit thermoregulatory possibilities in L. aparicioi, behavioral microhabitat use, time allocated to thermoregulation, and physiological adjustments seem to be possible strategies to counteract thermal costs along elevational gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Bruno Miranda-Calle
- Carrera de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Puras y Naturales, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Campus Universitario, c/27 Cota Cota, C.P. 10077, Correo Central, La Paz, Bolivia; Área de Herpetología, Colección Boliviana de Fauna, Campus Universitario, c/27 Cota Cota, C.P. 08706, Correo Central, La Paz, Bolivia; Red de Investigadores en Herpetología, La Paz, Bolivia.
| | - Luis F Pacheco
- Instituto de Ecología, Carrera de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Puras y Naturales, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Campus Universitario, c/27 Cota Cota, C.P. 10077, Correo Central, La Paz, Bolivia.
| | - James Aparicio
- Área de Herpetología, Colección Boliviana de Fauna, Campus Universitario, c/27 Cota Cota, C.P. 08706, Correo Central, La Paz, Bolivia; Red de Investigadores en Herpetología, La Paz, Bolivia.
| | - Fausto R Méndez-De la Cruz
- Laboratorio de Herpetología, Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
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20
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Aguado S, Clusella-Trullas S. Intra-specific variation of thermal performance, skin reflectance and body size partially co-vary with climate in a lizard. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Thermal adaptation theory posits that variation of thermal traits such as those affecting thermal budgets and the performance of ectotherms should be associated with climate gradients. Under a simple scenario, thermal traits should also co-vary to shape optimal thermal phenotypes under a particular climate. However, geographical variation and covariation of thermal traits can result from other sources of selection and a wide range of other mechanisms. Here, we explore variation and covariation of skin reflectance (melanization), body size and thermal performance traits among three populations of the lizard Cordylus cordylus, a species endemic to South Africa. We also examine relationships between skin reflectance and substrate reflectance, body size and crevice size to test alternative hypotheses. We found partial support for predictions of thermal adaptation to climate regimes for body size, melanization and chill-coma recovery time. Darker lizards also performed optimally at higher temperatures than lighter coloured lizards but there was limited individual covariation between morphological and performance traits. Despite partial support for thermal adaptation, the complex interactions between sex and body size and between substrate reflectance and size underlying skin reflectance emphasized the importance of testing multiple hypotheses when exploring drivers of thermal trait variation within species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Aguado
- Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, and Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Biodiversidad (UMIB, CSIC-UO-PA), Oviedo, Spain
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21
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Liang T, Zhang Z, Dai W, Shi L, Lu C. Spatial patterns in the size of Chinese lizards are driven by multiple factors. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:9621-9630. [PMID: 34306648 PMCID: PMC8293706 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND For almost two centuries, ecologists have examined geographical patterns in the evolution of body size and the associated determinants. During that time, one of the most common patterns to have emerged is the increase in body size with increasing latitude (referred to as Bergmann's rule). Typically, this pattern is explained in terms of an evolutionary response that serves to minimize heat loss in colder climates, mostly in endotherms. In contrast, however, this rule rarely explains geographical patterns in the evolution of body size among ectotherms (e.g., reptiles). LOCATION China. AIM In this study, we assembled a dataset comprising the maximum sizes of 211 lizard species in China and examined the geographical patterns in body size evolution and its determinants. Specifically, we assessed the relationship between body size and climate among all lizard species and within four major groups at both assemblage and interspecific levels. RESULTS Although we found that the body size of Chinese lizards was larger in warmer regions, we established that at the assemblage level, size was correlated with multiple climatic factors, and that body size-climate correlations differed within the four major groups. Phylogenetic analysis at the species level revealed that no single climatic factor was associated with body size, with the exception of agamids, for which size was found to be positively correlated with temperature. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Geographical patterns in Chinese lizard body size are driven by multiple factors, and overall patterns are probably influenced by those of the major groups. We suggest that our analyses at two different levels may have contributed to the inconsistent results obtained in this study. Further studies investigating the effects of altitude and ecological factors are needed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution of ectotherm body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Liang
- Wildlife conservation and utilizationNanjing Forestry UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Zi Zhang
- Wildlife conservation and utilizationNanjing Forestry UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Wen‐ya Dai
- Wildlife conservation and utilizationNanjing Forestry UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Lei Shi
- College of Animal ScienceXinjiang Agricultural UniversityUrumqiChina
| | - Chang‐hu Lu
- Wildlife conservation and utilizationNanjing Forestry UniversityNanjingChina
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22
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Benítez-López A, Santini L, Gallego-Zamorano J, Milá B, Walkden P, Huijbregts MAJ, Tobias JA. The island rule explains consistent patterns of body size evolution in terrestrial vertebrates. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:768-786. [PMID: 33859376 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01426-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Island faunas can be characterized by gigantism in small animals and dwarfism in large animals, but the extent to which this so-called 'island rule' provides a general explanation for evolutionary trajectories on islands remains contentious. Here we use a phylogenetic meta-analysis to assess patterns and drivers of body size evolution across a global sample of paired island-mainland populations of terrestrial vertebrates. We show that 'island rule' effects are widespread in mammals, birds and reptiles, but less evident in amphibians, which mostly tend towards gigantism. We also found that the magnitude of insular dwarfism and gigantism is mediated by climate as well as island size and isolation, with more pronounced effects in smaller, more remote islands for mammals and reptiles. We conclude that the island rule is pervasive across vertebrates, but that the implications for body size evolution are nuanced and depend on an array of context-dependent ecological pressures and environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Benítez-López
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. .,Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Luca Santini
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CNR-IRET), National Research Council, Monterotondo (Rome), Italy
| | - Juan Gallego-Zamorano
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Borja Milá
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Patrick Walkden
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Mark A J Huijbregts
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Joseph A Tobias
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
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23
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Hernández-Amparan S, Sainz-Mellado I, Hernández-Salinas U, López-González C. TESTING BERGMANN'S RULE IN THE WIDESPREAD MEXICAN LIZARD ANOLIS NEBULOSUS (SQUAMATA: DACTYLOIDAE). SOUTHWEST NAT 2021. [DOI: 10.1894/0038-4909-65.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Saúl Hernández-Amparan
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Durango, Calle Sigma 119 Fraccionamiento 20 de Noviembre II Durango, Durango, México 34220
| | - Isabel Sainz-Mellado
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Durango, Calle Sigma 119 Fraccionamiento 20 de Noviembre II Durango, Durango, México 34220
| | - Uriel Hernández-Salinas
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Durango, Calle Sigma 119 Fraccionamiento 20 de Noviembre II Durango, Durango, México 34220
| | - Celia López-González
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Durango, Calle Sigma 119 Fraccionamiento 20 de Noviembre II Durango, Durango, México 34220
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24
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From biggest to smallest mud dragons: size-latitude trends in a group of meiobenthic animals worldwide. ORG DIVERS EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13127-020-00471-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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25
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Mungee M, Athreya R. Intraspecific trait variability and community assembly in hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) across an elevational gradient in the eastern Himalayas, India. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:2471-2487. [PMID: 33767815 PMCID: PMC7981230 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated some aspects of hawkmoth community assembly at 13 elevations along a 200- to 2770-m transect in the eastern Himalayas, a little studied biodiversity hot spot of global importance. We measured the morphological traits of body mass, wing loading, and wing aspect ratio of 3,301 free-ranging individuals of 76 species without having to collect or even constrain them. We used these trait measurements and T-statistic metrics to assess the strength of intracommunity ("internal") and extra-community ("external") filters which determine the composition of communities vis-a-vis the regional pool of species.The trait distribution of constituent species turned out to be nonrandom subsets of the community-trait distribution, providing strong evidence for internal filtering in all elevational communities. The external filter metric was more ambiguous. However, the elevational dependence of many metrics including that of the internal filter provided evidence for external (i.e., environmental) filtering. On average, a species occupied as much as 50%-75% of the total community-trait space, yet the T-statistic metric for internal filter was sufficiently sensitive to detect a strong nonrandom structure in the trait distribution.We suggest that the change in T-statistic metrics along the environmental gradient may provide more clues to the process of community assembly than previously envisaged. A large, smoothly varying and well-sampled environmental span would make it easier to discern them. Developing T-statistics for combined analysis of multiple traits will perhaps provide a more accurate picture of internal/filtering and niche complementarity. Moths are a hyperdiverse taxon and a very important component of many ecosystems. Our technique for accurately measuring body and wing dimensions of free-ranging moths can generate trait database for a large number of individuals in a time- and resource-efficient manner for a variety of community assembly studies using this important taxon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mansi Mungee
- Indian Institute of Science Education and ResearchPuneIndia
- Wildlife Institute of IndiaDehradunIndia
| | - Ramana Athreya
- Indian Institute of Science Education and ResearchPuneIndia
- Wildlife Institute of IndiaDehradunIndia
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26
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Bässler C, Brandl R, Müller J, Krah FS, Reinelt A, Halbwachs H. Global analysis reveals an environmentally driven latitudinal pattern in mushroom size across fungal species. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:658-667. [PMID: 33565191 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although macroecology is a well-established field, much remains to be learned about the large-scale variation of fungal traits. We conducted a global analysis of mean fruit body size of 59 geographical regions worldwide, comprising 5340 fungal species exploring the response of fruit body size to latitude, resource availability and temperature. The results showed a hump-shaped relationship between mean fruit body size and distance to the equator. Areas with large fruit bodies were characterised by a high seasonality and an intermediate mean temperature. The responses of mutualistic species and saprotrophs were similar. These findings support the resource availability hypothesis, predicting large fruit bodies due to a seasonal resource surplus, and the thermoregulation hypothesis, according to which small fruit bodies offer a strategy to avoid heat and cold stress and therefore occur at temperature extremes. Fruit body size may thus be an adaptive trait driving the large-scale distribution of fungal species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claus Bässler
- Department of Conservation Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D- 60438, Germany.,Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Str. 2, Grafenau, 94481, Germany
| | - Roland Brandl
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, 35037, Germany
| | - Jörg Müller
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Str. 2, Grafenau, 94481, Germany.,Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter University of Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, 96181, Germany
| | - Franz S Krah
- Department of Conservation Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D- 60438, Germany
| | - Arthur Reinelt
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Str. 2, Grafenau, 94481, Germany
| | - Hans Halbwachs
- Department of Conservation Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D- 60438, Germany
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González-Morales JC, Rivera-Rea J, Moreno-Rueda G, Bastiaans E, Díaz-Albiter H, Díaz de la Vega-Pérez AH, Bautista A, Fajardo V. To be small and dark is advantageous for gaining heat in mezquite lizards, Sceloporus grammicus (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Body temperature is important in determining individual performance in ectotherms such as lizards. Environmental temperature decreases with increasing altitude, but nevertheless many lizards inhabit high-altitude environments. The ‘thermal melanism hypothesis’ proposes that a dark dorsal coloration enables darker individuals to heat up faster because they absorb more solar radiation and thus being darker may be advantageous in cold habitats. The aim of the present study is to evaluate how heating rate, cooling rate and net heat gain vary with body size and dorsal skin coloration in Sceloporus grammicus lizards along an altitudinal gradient. We measured these traits multiple times in the same individuals with a radiation heat source and spectrophotometry under laboratory conditions. Our results showed that S. grammicus lizards are smaller and darker at high elevations than at low elevations. In addition, the smallest and darkest lizards showed the greatest heating rate and net heat gain. Therefore, in S. grammicus, we suggest that small body size and dark dorsal coloration provide thermoregulatory benefits in high-altitude environments. Hence, this study supports the thermal melanism hypothesis in a lizard species under varied thermal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos González-Morales
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Km 1.5 Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla S/N, AP, Tlaxcala, México
- Instituto para la Conservación de la cordillera Neovolcánica ante al Cambio Climático, Lago Atitlán, Colonia Nueva Oxtotitlán, Toluca, Estado de México, C.P., México
| | - Jimena Rivera-Rea
- Instituto para la Conservación de la cordillera Neovolcánica ante al Cambio Climático, Lago Atitlán, Colonia Nueva Oxtotitlán, Toluca, Estado de México, C.P., México
- Posgrado en Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, México. Instituto Literario, Colonia Centro, Toluca, Estado de México, C.P., México
| | - Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva S/N, Granada, Spain
| | - Elizabeth Bastiaans
- Biology Department, State University of New York College at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY, USA
| | - Héctor Díaz-Albiter
- Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Km 1.5 Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla S/N, Tlaxcala, México
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Amando Bautista
- Unidad Villahermosa, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Tabasco CP, México
| | - Víctor Fajardo
- Instituto para la Conservación de la cordillera Neovolcánica ante al Cambio Climático, Lago Atitlán, Colonia Nueva Oxtotitlán, Toluca, Estado de México, C.P., México
- Universidad del Istmo, Campus Juchitán, Carretera Transísmica Juchitán - La Ventosa Km. 14, La Ventosa, C.P. Oaxaca, México
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Perez R, Aron S. Adaptations to thermal stress in social insects: recent advances and future directions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1535-1553. [PMID: 33021060 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Thermal stress is a major driver of population declines and extinctions. Shifts in thermal regimes create new environmental conditions, leading to trait adaptation, population migration, and/or species extinction. Extensive research has examined thermal adaptations in terrestrial arthropods. However, little is known about social insects, despite their major role in ecosystems. It is only within the last few years that the adaptations of social insects to thermal stress have received attention. Herein, we discuss what is currently known about thermal tolerance and thermal adaptation in social insects - namely ants, termites, social bees, and social wasps. We describe the behavioural, morphological, physiological, and molecular adaptations that social insects have evolved to cope with thermal stress. We examine individual and collective responses to both temporary and persistent changes in thermal conditions and explore the extent to which individuals can exploit genetic variability to acclimatise. Finally, we consider the costs and benefits of sociality in the face of thermal stress, and we propose some future research directions that should advance our knowledge of individual and collective thermal adaptations in social insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémy Perez
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Serge Aron
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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29
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Connoy JW, Leivesley JA, Brooks RJ, Litzgus JD, Rollinson N. Body size of ectotherms constrains thermal requirements for reproductive activity in seasonal environments. CAN J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Body size may influence ectotherm behaviour by influencing heating and cooling rates, thereby constraining the time of day that some individuals can be active. The time of day at which turtles nest, for instance, is hypothesized to vary with body size at both inter- and intra-specific levels because large individuals have greater thermal inertia, retaining preferred body temperatures for a longer period of time. We use decades of data on thousands of individual nests from Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, to explore how body size is associated with nesting behaviour in Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783); small bodied) and Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758); large bodied). We found that (i) between species, Painted Turtles nest earlier in the evening and at higher mean temperatures than Snapping Turtles, and (ii) within species, relatively large individuals of both species nest at cooler temperatures and that relatively larger Painted Turtles nest later in the evening compared with smaller Painted Turtles. Our data support the thermal inertia hypothesis and may help explain why turtles in general exhibit geographic clines in body size: northern environments experience more daily variation in temperature, and larger size may evolve, in part, for retention of preferred body temperature during terrestrial forays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared W.H. Connoy
- School of the Environment, University of Toronto, 33 Wilcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Wilcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Jessica A. Leivesley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Wilcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Ronald J. Brooks
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Jacqueline D. Litzgus
- Department of Biology, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - Njal Rollinson
- School of the Environment, University of Toronto, 33 Wilcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Wilcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
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30
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Rutschmann A, Rozen‐Rechels D, Dupoué A, Blaimont P, de Villemereuil P, Miles DB, Richard M, Clobert J. Climate dependent heating efficiency in the common lizard. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:8007-8017. [PMID: 32788957 PMCID: PMC7417243 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulation of body temperature is crucial for optimizing physiological performance in ectotherms but imposes constraints in time and energy. Time and energy spent thermoregulating can be reduced through behavioral (e.g., basking adjustments) or biophysical (e.g., heating rate physiology) means. In a heterogeneous environment, we expect thermoregulation costs to vary according to local, climatic conditions and therefore to drive the evolution of both behavioral and biophysical thermoregulation. To date, there are limited data showing that thermal physiological adjustments have a direct relationship to climatic conditions. In this study, we explored the effect of environmental conditions on heating rates in the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara). We sampled lizards from 10 populations in the Massif Central Mountain range of France and measured whether differences in heating rates of individuals correlated with phenotypic traits (i.e., body condition and dorsal darkness) or abiotic factors (temperature and rainfall). Our results show that heat gain is faster for lizards with a higher body condition, but also for individuals from habitats with higher amount of precipitation. Altogether, they demonstrate that environmentally induced constraints can shape biophysical aspects of thermoregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Rutschmann
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (SETE), CNRSMoulisFrance
| | - David Rozen‐Rechels
- Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris (iEES)‐ParisCNRS, IRD, INRASorbonne UniversitéParisFrance
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de ChizéLa Rochelle UniversitéCNRSVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | - Andréaz Dupoué
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (SETE), CNRSMoulisFrance
| | - Pauline Blaimont
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)Santa CruzCAUSA
| | | | - Donald B. Miles
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (SETE), CNRSMoulisFrance
- Department of Biological SciencesOhio UniversityAthensOHUSA
| | - Murielle Richard
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (SETE), CNRSMoulisFrance
| | - Jean Clobert
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (SETE), CNRSMoulisFrance
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Juhász O, Bátori Z, Trigos-Peral G, Lőrinczi G, Módra G, Bóni I, Kiss PJ, Aguilon DJ, Tenyér A, Maák I. Large- and Small-Scale Environmental Factors Drive Distributions of Ant Mound Size Across a Latitudinal Gradient. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11060350. [PMID: 32512838 PMCID: PMC7348728 DOI: 10.3390/insects11060350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Red wood ants are keystone species of forest ecosystems in Europe. Environmental factors and habitat characteristics affect the size of their nest mounds, an important trait being in concordance with a colony’s well-being and impact on its surroundings. In this study, we investigated the effect of large-scale (latitude and altitude) and small-scale environmental factors (e.g., characteristics of the forest) on the size of nest mounds of Formica polyctena in Central Europe. We predicted that the change in nest size is in accordance with Bergmann’s rule that states that the body size of endotherm animals increases with the higher latitude and/or altitude. We found that the size of nests increased along the latitudinal gradient in accordance with Bergmann’s rule. The irradiation was the most important factor responsible for the changes in nest size, but temperature and local factors, like the perimeter of the trees and their distance from the nest, were also involved. Considering our results, we can better understand the long-term effects and consequences of the fast-changing environmental factors on this ecologically important group. This knowledge can contribute to the planning of forest management tactics in concordance with the assurance of the long-term survival of red wood ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orsolya Juhász
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (Z.B.); (G.L.); (G.M.); (I.B.); (P.J.K.); (D.J.A.); (I.M.)
- Doctoral School in Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary
- Correspondence:
| | - Zoltán Bátori
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (Z.B.); (G.L.); (G.M.); (I.B.); (P.J.K.); (D.J.A.); (I.M.)
| | - Gema Trigos-Peral
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza Street 64, 00-679 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Gábor Lőrinczi
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (Z.B.); (G.L.); (G.M.); (I.B.); (P.J.K.); (D.J.A.); (I.M.)
| | - Gábor Módra
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (Z.B.); (G.L.); (G.M.); (I.B.); (P.J.K.); (D.J.A.); (I.M.)
- Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla Square 1, H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Imola Bóni
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (Z.B.); (G.L.); (G.M.); (I.B.); (P.J.K.); (D.J.A.); (I.M.)
| | - Péter János Kiss
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (Z.B.); (G.L.); (G.M.); (I.B.); (P.J.K.); (D.J.A.); (I.M.)
- Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla Square 1, H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Dianne Joy Aguilon
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (Z.B.); (G.L.); (G.M.); (I.B.); (P.J.K.); (D.J.A.); (I.M.)
- Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla Square 1, H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
- Department of Forest Biological Sciences, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna 4031, Philippines
| | - Anna Tenyér
- Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, University of Szeged, Egyetem Street 2-6, H-6722 Szeged, Hungary;
| | - István Maák
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (Z.B.); (G.L.); (G.M.); (I.B.); (P.J.K.); (D.J.A.); (I.M.)
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza Street 64, 00-679 Warsaw, Poland;
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Carvajal-Castro JD, López-Aguirre Y, Ospina-L AM, Santos JC, Rojas B, Vargas-Salinas F. Much more than a clasp: evolutionary patterns of amplexus diversity in anurans. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe evolution and diversification of animal reproductive modes have been pivotal questions in behavioural ecology. Amphibians present the highest diversity of reproductive modes among vertebrates, involving various behavioural, physiological and morphological traits. One such feature is the amplexus, which is the clasp or embrace of males on females during reproduction and is found almost universally in anurans. Hypotheses about the origin of amplexus are limited and have not been tested thoroughly, nor have they taken into account evolutionary relationships in most comparative studies. However, these considerations are crucial to an understanding of the evolution of reproductive modes. Here, using an evolutionary framework, we reconstruct the ancestral state of amplexus in 685 anuran species. We investigate whether the type of amplexus has a strong phylogenetic signal and test whether sexual size dimorphism could have influenced amplexus type or male performance while clasping females. Overall, we found evidence of ≥34 evolutionary transitions in amplexus type across anurans. We found that amplexus type exhibits a high phylogenetic signal and that amplexus type does not evolve in association with sexual size dimorphism. We discuss the implications of our findings for the diversity of amplexus types across anurans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan D Carvajal-Castro
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Villa de Leyva and Bogotá DC, Colombia
- Grupo de Investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Yelenny López-Aguirre
- Grupo de Investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Ana María Ospina-L
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Villa de Leyva and Bogotá DC, Colombia
- Grupo de Investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Juan C Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. John’s University, Queens, NY, USA
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Fernando Vargas-Salinas
- Grupo de Investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
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Comas M, Reguera S, Zamora-Camacho FJ, Moreno-Rueda G. Age structure of a lizard along an elevational gradient reveals nonlinear lifespan patterns with altitude. Curr Zool 2019; 66:373-382. [PMID: 32939218 PMCID: PMC7485750 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoz063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Lifespan is one of the main components of life history. Shorter lifespans can be expected
in marginal habitats. However, in the case of ectotherms, lifespan typically increases
with altitude, even though temperature—one of the main factors to determine ectotherms’
life history—declines with elevation. This pattern can be explained by the fact that a
shorter activity time favors survival. In this study, we analyzed how lifespan and other
life-history traits of the lizard Psammodromus algirus vary along a
2,200 m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). Populations at intermediate
altitudes (1,200–1,700 m), corresponding to the optimal habitat for this species, had the
shortest lifespans, whereas populations inhabiting marginal habitats (at both low and at
high altitudes) lived longest. Therefore, this lizard did not follow the typical pattern
of ectotherms, as it also lived longer at the lower limit of its distribution, nor did it
show a longer lifespan in areas with optimal habitats. These results might be explained by
a complex combination of different gradients along the mountain, namely that activity time
decreases with altitude whereas food availability increases. This could explain why
lifespan was maximum at both high (limited activity time) and low (limited food
availability) altitudes, resulting in similar lifespans in areas with contrasting
environmental conditions. Our findings also indicated that reproductive investment and
body condition increase with elevation, suggesting that alpine populations are locally
adapted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mar Comas
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain.,Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Américo Vespucio 26, Sevilla, E-41092, Spain
| | - Senda Reguera
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain
| | - Francisco J Zamora-Camacho
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain.,Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain
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34
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Wishingrad V, Thomson RC. Ecological variability is associated with functional trait diversity in the western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
A major goal of evolutionary ecology is to understand the ways in which ecological variability has structured morphological diversity. The aim of this study was to examine intraspecific phenotypic variation in the western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) for functional traits previously shown to be linked to variation across latitude and climate at a genus-wide level. We found that body size in S. occidentalis was negatively related to minimum temperatures during the coldest month, potentially implicating overwintering survival as a mechanism leading to this relationship. We also demonstrated that scale size in S. occidentalis was negatively associated with aridity, which is consistent with several other studies in squamate reptiles and the known functional role of scale size in moderating evaporative water loss. However, contrary to predictions of the thermal melanism hypothesis, we found no association between lizard colour and temperature during the active season. Overall, our results are largely at odds with interspecific patterns examining the relationship between these traits and environmental conditions. It is unclear to what degree intraspecific trait variation generally agrees with inferences made at the interspecific level. In any case, more studies at the intraspecific level are needed to resolve this question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Van Wishingrad
- University of Hawaii, School of Life Sciences, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Robert C Thomson
- University of Hawaii, School of Life Sciences, Honolulu, HI, USA
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35
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Díaz de la Vega-Pérez A, Barrios-Montiel R, Jiménez-Arcos V, Bautista A, Bastiaans E. High-mountain altitudinal gradient influences thermal ecology of the Mesquite Lizard (Sceloporus grammicus). CAN J ZOOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2018-0263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The thermal requirements of ectotherms may vary among species due to adaptation to different thermal environments. Nevertheless, some of these requirements are evolutionarily conserved, leading organisms to compensate behaviorally for harsh environmental conditions. High-mountain systems provide temperature gradients that allow for studies of evolutionary and plastic variation in thermal ecology under natural conditions. We evaluated the thermoregulation strategies of Sceloporus grammicus Wiegmann, 1828 at three points (2600, 3100, and 4150 m above sea level) along an altitudinal gradient. We found that the thermal quality of the site and the body temperatures of lizards are influenced by altitude and decrease with increasing elevation. However, lizards from the three different elevations have similar thermal requirements. High-altitude lizards have lower thermal accuracy and efficiency indices compared with those from the lower sites, owing to the low thermal quality of their environment. Nevertheless, they are efficient in thermoregulation, increasing their body temperature above the ambient temperature. We found that pregnant females from all three elevations had similar preferred body temperatures. Compared with nonpregnant females and males, they exhibited lower preferred temperatures and more accurate thermoregulation. The wide altitudinal distribution of S. grammicus is thus not caused by variable thermal requirements. Instead, the wide repertoire of physiological and behavioral strategies of these lizards allows this species to successfully inhabit contrasting environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- A.H. Díaz de la Vega-Pérez
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla km 1.5 C.P. 90062, Tlaxcala, México
| | - R. Barrios-Montiel
- Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla km 1.5 C.P. 90062, Tlaxcala, México
| | - V.H. Jiménez-Arcos
- Laboratorio de Ecología, UBIPRO, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida de los Barrios No. 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, C.P. 54090, Tlalnepantla, México
| | - A. Bautista
- Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla km 1.5 C.P. 90062, Tlaxcala, México
| | - E. Bastiaans
- State University of New York College at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY 13820, USA
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36
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Rubalcaba JG, Gouveia SF, Olalla-Tárraga MA. Upscaling Microclimatic Conditions into Body Temperature Distributions of Ectotherms. Am Nat 2019; 193:677-687. [PMID: 31002566 DOI: 10.1086/702717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Realistic projections of the biological impacts of climate change require predicting fitness responses to variations in environmental conditions. For ectotherms, this challenge requires methods to scale-up microclimatic information into actual body temperatures, Tb, while dealing with uncertainty regarding individual behaviors and physiological constraints. Here, we propose an information-theoretical model to derive microhabitat selection and Tb distributions of ectotherm populations from microclimatic data. The model infers the most probable allocation of individuals among the available microenvironments and the associated population-level Tb distribution. Using empirical Tb data of 41 species of desert lizards from three independently evolved systems-Western North America, Kalahari Desert, and Western Australia-we show that the model accurately predicts empirical Tb distributions across the three systems. Moreover, the framework naturally provides a way to quantify the importance of thermoregulation in a thermal environment and thereby a measurement for the constraint imposed by the climatic conditions. By predicting Tb distributions of ectotherm populations even without exhaustive information on the underpinning mechanisms, our approach forms a solid theoretical basis for upscaling microclimatic and physiological information into a population-level fitness trait. This scaling process is a first step to reliably project the biological impacts of climate change to broad temporal and spatial scales.
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Ortega J, Martín J, Crochet PA, López P, Clobert J. Seasonal and interpopulational phenotypic variation in morphology and sexual signals of Podarcis liolepis lizards. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0211686. [PMID: 30875384 PMCID: PMC6419997 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Widespread species often show extensive phenotypic variation due to the contrasting abiotic and biotic factors that shape selective pressures in different environments. In this context, the gradual and predictable patterns of variation in climatic and environmental conditions found in mountain areas offer a great opportunity to explore intraspecific phenotypic variation. For instance, temperature is negatively correlated with altitude and virtually all aspects of the behavior and physiology of ectotherms are sensitive to body temperature. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that morphology, dorsal and ventral coloration and the chemical profile of femoral secretions show interpopulational and seasonal variation in the lacertid lizard (Podarcis liolepis). We compared lizards from three populations inhabiting lowland and highland habitats in the French Pyrenees that were closely related genetically. We found that highland lizards were larger, stockier, had longer heads and more femoral pores and had a darker dorsal coloration than lowland ones. In addition, we detected interpopulational differences in both the abundance and the richness of chemical compounds in the glandular secretions, and we also found seasonal variation in the overall chemical composition. Dorsal and ventral coloration differed seasonally and between populations. Ventral and dorsal brightness were higher in lowland than in highland lizards in the reproductive season whereas the reversed trend was found in the non-reproductive season but only for dorsal brightness. In addition, all lizards had browner dorsal coloration in the non-reproductive season, and lowland lizards were greener in the reproductive season. By integrating information from both visual and chemical systems, our works offers a comprehensive view of how these lizards communicate in a multimodal context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Ortega
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, National Museum of Natural Sciences, C.S.I.C., Madrid, Spain
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - José Martín
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, National Museum of Natural Sciences, C.S.I.C., Madrid, Spain
| | - Pierre-André Crochet
- Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Montpellier, CNRS-UMR 5175, France
| | - Pilar López
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, National Museum of Natural Sciences, C.S.I.C., Madrid, Spain
| | - Jean Clobert
- Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, Moulis, France
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Osores SJA, Ruz GA, Opitz T, Lardies MA. Discovering divergence in the thermal physiology of intertidal crabs along latitudinal gradients using an integrated approach with machine learning. J Therm Biol 2018; 78:140-150. [PMID: 30509630 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2017] [Revised: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In intertidal marine crustaceans, phenotypic variation in physiological and life-history traits is pervasive along latitudinal clines. However, organisms have complex phenotypes, and their traits do not vary independently but rather interact differentially between them, effect that is caused by genetic and/or environmental forces. We evaluated the geographic variation in phenotypic integration of three marine crab species that inhabit different vertical thermal microhabitats of the intertidal zone. We studied seven populations of each species along a latitudinal gradient that spans more than 3000 km of the Chilean coast. Specifically we measured nine physiological traits that are highly related to thermal physiology. Of the nine traits, we selected four that contributed significantly to the observed geographical variation among populations; this variation was then evaluated using mixed linear models and an integrative approach employing machine learning. The results indicate that patterns of physiological variation depend on species vertical microhabitat, which may be subject to chronic or acute environmental variation. The species that inhabit the high- intertidal sites (i.e., exposed to chronic variation) better tolerated thermal stress compared with populations that inhabit the lower intertidal. While those in the low-intertidal only face conditions of acute thermal variation, using to a greater extent the plasticity to face these events. Our main results reflect that (1) species that inhabit the high-intertidal maintain a greater integration between their physiological traits and present lower plasticity than those that inhabit the low-intertidal. (2) Inverse relationship that exists between phenotypic plasticity and phenotypic integration of the physiological traits identified, which could help optimize energy resources. In general, the study of multiple physiological traits provides a more accurate picture of how the thermal traits of organisms vary along temperature gradients especially when exposed to conditions close to tolerance limits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gonzalo A Ruz
- Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile; Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES-UC), Santiago, Chile
| | - Tania Opitz
- Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Marco A Lardies
- Facultad de Artes Liberales, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile.
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Moreno-Rueda G, Melero E, Reguera S, Zamora-Camacho FJ, Álvarez-Benito I. Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient. Curr Zool 2018; 64:603-613. [PMID: 30323839 PMCID: PMC6178790 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zox077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Revised: 10/10/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mountains imply enormous environmental variation, with alpine habitats entailing harsh environments, especially for ectotherms such as lizards. This environmental variability also may imply variation in prey availability. However, little is known about how lizard trophic ecology varies with elevation. In this study, we analyze diet, prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lacertid lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2,200-m elevational gradient in the Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). The analysis of fecal samples has shown that Orthoptera, Formicidae, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Araneae are the main prey, although, according to their abundance in pitfall traps, Formicidae and Coleoptera are rejected by the lizard whereas Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Araneae are preferred. Prey abundance and diversity increase with elevation and diet subtly varies along with the elevational gradient. The consumption of Coleoptera increases with elevation probably as a consequence of the lizard foraging more in open areas while basking. The electivity for Araneae increases with elevation. Araneae are rejected in the lowlands—where they are relatively abundant—whereas, at high elevation, this lizard positively selects them, despite they being less abundant. The lizard trophic niche width expands with elevation due to concomitant greater prey diversity and hence this lizard feeds on more prey types in highlands. Although no sex difference in diet has been found, the trophic niche is broader in females than males. As a whole, alpine lizards show a trophic niche similar to that found at lower elevations, suggesting that P. algirus is well adapted to the harsh environment found in alpine areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Elena Melero
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Senda Reguera
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Francisco J Zamora-Camacho
- Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, E-28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Inés Álvarez-Benito
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
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Ouyang X, Gao J, Xie M, Liu B, Zhou L, Chen B, Jourdan J, Riesch R, Plath M. Natural and sexual selection drive multivariate phenotypic divergence along climatic gradients in an invasive fish. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11164. [PMID: 30042477 PMCID: PMC6057953 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29254-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Invasive species that rapidly spread throughout novel distribution ranges are prime models to investigate climate-driven phenotypic diversification on a contemporary scale. Previous studies on adaptive diversification along latitudinal gradients in fish have mainly considered body size and reported either increased or decreased body size towards higher latitudes (i.e. Bergmann's rule). Our study is the first to investigate phenotypic divergence in multiple traits, including sexually selected traits (size and shape of the male copulatory organ, the gonopodium) of invasive Gambusia affinis in China. We studied body size, life history traits and morphological variation across populations spanning 17 degrees of latitude and 16 degrees of longitude. Even though we found phenotypic variation along climatic gradients to be strongest in naturally selected traits, some sexually selected traits also showed systematic gradual divergence. For example, males from southern populations possessed wider gonopodia with increased armament. Generally, males and females diverged in response to different components of climatic gradients (latitudinal or longitudinal variation) and in different trait suites. We discuss that not only temperature regimes, but also indirect effects of increased resource and mate competition (as a function of different extrinsic overwinter mortality rates) alter the selective landscape along climatic gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Ouyang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P.R. China
| | - Jiancao Gao
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P.R. China
| | - Meifeng Xie
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P.R. China
| | - Binghua Liu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P.R. China
| | - Linjun Zhou
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P.R. China
| | - Bojian Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P.R. China
| | - Jonas Jourdan
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P.R. China.
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Álvarez-Ruiz L, Megía-Palma R, Reguera S, Ruiz S, Zamora-Camacho FJ, Figuerola J, Moreno-Rueda G. Opposed elevational variation in prevalence and intensity of endoparasites and their vectors in a lizard. Curr Zool 2018; 64:197-204. [PMID: 30402060 PMCID: PMC5905508 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Studying the causes of parasite geographic distribution is relevant to understand ecological and evolutionary processes that affect host populations as well as for species conservation. Temperature is one of the most important environmental variables affecting parasite distribution, as raising temperatures positively affect development, reproduction, and rate of transmission of both endo- and ectoparasites. In this context, it is generally accepted that, in mountains, parasite abundance decreases with elevation. However, empirical evidence on this topic is limited. In the present study, we analyzed the elevational variation of hemoparasites and ectoparasites of a lizard, Psammodromus algirus, along a 2,200-m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). As predicted, ectoparasite (mites, ticks, mosquitoes, and sandflies) abundance decreased with elevation. However, hemoparasite prevalence and intensity in the lizard augmented with altitude, showing a pattern contrary to their vectors (mites). We suggest that tolerance to hemoparasites may increase with elevation as a consequence of lizards at high altitudes taking advantage of increased body condition and food availability, and reduced oxidative stress. Moreover, lizards could have been selected for higher resistance against hemoparasites at lowlands (where higher rates of replication are expected), thus reducing hemoparasite prevalence and load. Our findings imply that, in a scenario of climate warming, populations of lizards at high elevation may face increased abundance of ectoparasites, accompanied with strong negative effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lola Álvarez-Ruiz
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación-CSIC, Ctra. Náquera Km. 4.5, Moncada, Valencia, E-46113, Spain
| | - Rodrigo Megía-Palma
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, c/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, E-28006, Spain
| | - Senda Reguera
- Unit of Ethology and Animal Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary, University CEU Cardenal Herrera, Alfara del Patriarca, (Valencia), E-46113, Spain
| | - Santiago Ruiz
- Servicio de Control de Mosquitos, Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Huelva, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain
| | - Francisco J Zamora-Camacho
- Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, E-28006, Spain
| | - Jordi Figuerola
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain
- Departamento de Ecología de Humedales, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, c/Américo Vespucio s/n, Sevilla, E-41092, Spain
| | - Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain
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López-Calderón C, Feriche M, Alaminos E, Pleguezuelos JM. Loss of largest and oldest individuals of the Montpellier snake correlates with recent warming in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. Curr Zool 2018; 63:607-613. [PMID: 29492021 PMCID: PMC5804207 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zow112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The effects of climate change on organisms are now being extensively studied in many different taxa. However, the variation in body size, usually shrinkage in response to increasing temperature, has received little attention regarding to reptiles. During past periods of global warming, many organisms shrank in size, and current evidence and experiments manipulating temperature have shown a biomass decrease in some organisms with increasing temperatures. Here we test whether the body size of the Montpellier snake Malpolon monspessulanus from the southeastern Iberian Peninsula is changing and correlated with the increasing temperature in this region during a 39-year period (1976-2014). We measured the snout-vent length (SVL) of vouchers in scientific collections to check for trends in adult body size at the population level in relation with temperature, while controlling for the age of the individuals (estimated by skeletochronology, n =141). Given the great ontogenetic variation in body size of the study species, we categorized age in 3 classes: "young adults" (under 5 years old), "intermediate adults" (from 5 to 7 years old), and "old adults" (from 8 to 14 years old). By means of linear mixed models, we found a negative relationship between SVL of "old adults" and average annual temperature in the region during the lifetime of each individual. Our results indicate that largest and oldest individuals of the Montpellier Snake, that is, males because of strong sexual size dimorphism in this species, disappeared from the study population, and suggest that it occurred in response to rising environmental temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosme López-Calderón
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Seville, C/Reina Mercedes, Seville, E-41012, Spain
| | - Mónica Feriche
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain
| | - Esmeralda Alaminos
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain
| | - Juan M Pleguezuelos
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, E-18071, Spain
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Köhler G, Samietz J, Schielzeth H. Morphological and colour morph clines along an altitudinal gradient in the meadow grasshopper Pseudochorthippus parallelus. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0189815. [PMID: 29284051 PMCID: PMC5746220 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animals show altitudinal clines in size, shape and body colour. Increases in body size and reduction in the length of body appendices in colder habitats are usually attributed to improved heat conservation at lower surface-to-volume ratios (known as Bergmann’s and Allen’s rule, respectively). However, the patterns are more variable and sometimes reversed in small ectotherms that are affected by shortened growing seasons. Altitude can also affect colouration. The thermal melanism hypothesis predicts darker colours under cooler conditions because of a thermoregulatory advantage. Darker colours may also be favoured at high altitudes for reasons of UV protection or habitat-dependent crypsis. We studied altitudinal variation in morphology and colour in the colour-polymorphic meadow grasshopper Pseudochorthippus parallelus based on 563 individuals from 17 populations sampled between 450 and 2,500 m asl. Pronotum length did not change with altitude, while postfemur length decreased significantly in both sexes. Tegmen (forewing) length decreased in males, but not in females. The results indicate that while body size, as best quantified by pronotum length, was remarkably constant, extended appendices were reduced at high altitudes. The pattern thus follows Allen’s rule, but neither Bergmann’s nor converse Bergmann’s rule. These results indicate that inference of converse Bergmann’s rule based on measurements from appendices should be treated with some caution. Colour morph ratios showed significant changes in both sexes from lowland populations dominated by green individuals to high-altitude populations dominated by brown ones. The increase of brown morphs was particularly steep between 1,500 and 2,000 m asl. The results suggest shared control of colour in males and females and local adaptation along the altitudinal gradient following the predictions of the thermal melanism hypothesis. Interestingly, both patterns, the reduction of body appendices and the higher frequency of brown individuals, may be explained by a need for efficient thermoregulation under high-altitude conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Günter Köhler
- Population Ecology Group, Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Jörg Samietz
- Population Ecology Group, Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Holger Schielzeth
- Population Ecology Group, Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Joos J, Kirchner M, Vamberger M, Kaviani M, Rahimibashar MR, Fritz U, MÜller J. Climate and patterns of body size variation in the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blx056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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Barroso FM, Carretero MA, Silva F, Sannolo M. Assessing the reliability of thermography to infer internal body temperatures of lizards. J Therm Biol 2016; 62:90-96. [PMID: 27839556 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2016] [Revised: 07/13/2016] [Accepted: 10/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
For many years lizard thermal ecology studies have relied on the use of contact thermometry to obtain internal body temperature (Tb) of the animals. However, with progressing technology, an interest grew in using new, less invasive methods, such as InfraRed (IR) pyrometry and thermography, to infer Tb of reptiles. Nonetheless few studies have tested the reliability of these new tools. The present study tested the use of IR cameras as a non-invasive tool to infer Tb of lizards, using three differently body-sized lacertid species (Podarcis virescens, Lacerta schreiberi and Timon lepidus). Given the occurrence of regional heterothermy, we pairwise compared thermography readings of six body parts (snout, eye, head, dorsal, hind limb, tail base) to cloacal temperature (measured by a thermometer-associated thermocouple probe) commonly employed to measure Tb in field and lab studies. The results showed moderate to strong correlations (R2=0.84-0.99) between all body parts and cloacal temperature. However, despite the readings on the tail base showed the strongest correlation in all three species, it was the eye where the absolute values and pattern of temperature change most consistently followed the cloacal measurements. Hence, we concluded that the eye would be the body location whose IR camera readings more closely approximate that of the animal's internal environment. Alternatively, other body parts can be used, provided that a careful calibration is carried out. We provide guidelines for future research using thermography to infer Tb of lizards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederico M Barroso
- CIBIO, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, Vairão 4485-661, Vila do Conde, Portugal; College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK
| | - Miguel A Carretero
- CIBIO, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, Vairão 4485-661, Vila do Conde, Portugal
| | - Francisco Silva
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, R. Campo Alegre, s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal
| | - Marco Sannolo
- CIBIO, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, Vairão 4485-661, Vila do Conde, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, R. Campo Alegre, s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal.
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Ortega Z, Mencía A, Pérez-Mellado V. Sexual differences in behavioral thermoregulation of the lizard Scelarcis perspicillata. J Therm Biol 2016; 61:44-49. [PMID: 27712659 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2016] [Revised: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Temperature determines all aspects of the biology of ectotherms. Although sexual differences in thermal ecology are not the rule in lizards, some species exhibit such differences. We studied the effect of sex and reproductive condition on the thermoregulation of an introduced population of Scelarcis perspicillata during the summer in Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). These lizards live in the wall surfaces of a limestone quarry, where the sun is scarce because of the narrowness of the quarry walls. The population is sexually dimorphic, with larger males than females. We measured body temperature (Tb) of adult males and females in the field, and air (Ta) and substrate temperature (Ts) at the capture sites, and recorded exposure to sunlight, height of the perch, and type of substrate. We also recorded operative temperatures (Te) as a null hypothesis of thermoregulation. Finally, we studied the thermal preferences of adult males and females in a laboratory thermal gradient. Thermal preferences were similar for pregnant and non-pregnant females, and sex did not affect the thermal preferences of lizards, even after controlling for the effect of body size. However, in the field, females achieved higher Tb than males, and occupied microhabitats with higher Ta and Ts and lower perch heights than males. Furthermore, females selected perches in full sun at a higher frequency than males. As a consequence, females achieved a higher accuracy and effectiveness of thermoregulation (0.89) than males (0.84). Thus, all else being equal, females would achieve a higher performance than males. The observed results are attributable to sexual differences in behaviour, probably in relation with the reproductive season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaida Ortega
- Department of Animal Biology, University of Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Abraham Mencía
- Department of Animal Biology, University of Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
| | - Valentín Pérez-Mellado
- Department of Animal Biology, University of Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
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Zamora-Camacho FJ, Reguera S, Moreno-Rueda G. Thermoregulation in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2200-m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (Spain). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2016; 60:687-697. [PMID: 26373651 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-015-1063-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2015] [Revised: 09/03/2015] [Accepted: 09/07/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Achieving optimal body temperature maximizes animal fitness. Since ambient temperature may limit ectotherm thermal performance, it can be constrained in too cold or hot environments. In this sense, elevational gradients encompass contrasting thermal environments. In thermally pauperized elevations, ectotherms may either show adaptations or suboptimal body temperatures. Also, reproductive condition may affect thermal needs. Herein, we examined different thermal ecology and physiology capabilities of the lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2200-m elevational gradient. We measured field (T(b)) and laboratory-preferred (T(pref)) body temperatures of lizards with different reproductive conditions, as well as ambient (T(a)) and copper-model operative temperature (T(e)), which we used to determine thermal quality of the habitat (d(e)), accuracy (d(b)), and effectiveness of thermoregulation (de-db) indexes. We detected no Tb trend in elevation, while T(a) constrained T(b) only at high elevations. Moreover, while Ta decreased more than 7 °C with elevation, T(pref) dropped only 0.6 °C, although significantly. Notably, low-elevation lizards faced excess temperature (T(e) > T(pref)). Notably, de was best at middle elevations, followed by high elevations, and poorest at low elevations. Nonetheless, regarding microhabitat, high-elevation de was more suitable in sun-exposed microhabitats, which may increase exposition to predators, and at midday, which may limit daily activity. As for gender, d(b) and d(e)-d(b) were better in females than in males. In conclusion, P. algirus seems capable to face a wide thermal range, which probably contributes to its extensive corology and makes it adaptable to climate changes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Senda Reguera
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain
| | - Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain
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Mohammed M, Yanagisawa M, Blessing W, Ootsuka Y. Attenuated cold defense responses in orexin neuron-ablated rats. Temperature (Austin) 2016; 3:465-475. [PMID: 28349086 PMCID: PMC5079225 DOI: 10.1080/23328940.2016.1184366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2016] [Revised: 04/21/2016] [Accepted: 04/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent reports of the use of transgenic mice targeting orexin neurons show that the ablation of orexin neurons in the hypothalamus causes hypothermia during cold exposure. This suggests the importance of orexin neurons for cold-induced autonomic and physiological defense responses, including brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and vasoconstriction in thermoregulatory cutaneous vascular bed. The present study investigated whether the ablation of orexin neurons attenuated cold-elicited BAT thermogenesis and cutaneous vasoconstriction. The study took advantage of our established conscious rat experimental model of direct measurement of BAT and body temperature and tail cutaneous blood flow. The study used transgenic orexin neurons-ablated (ORX-AB) rats and wild type (WT) rats. BAT temperature and tail artery blood flow with pre-implanted probes were measured, as well as behavioral locomotor activity under conscious free-moving condition. Gradually, the ambient temperature was decreased to below 5°C. ORX-AB rats showed an attenuated cold-induced BAT thermogenesis and behavioral activity, and delayed tail vasoconstriction. An ambient temperature that initiated BAT thermogenesis and established full cutaneous vasoconstriction was 14.1 ± 1.9 °C, which was significantly lower than 20.5 ± 1.9 °C, the corresponding value in WT rats (n = 10, P < 0.01). The results from this study suggest that the integrity of orexin-synthesising neurons in thermoregulatory networks is important for full expression of the cold defense responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mazher Mohammed
- Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Human Physiology, Flinders University , Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Masashi Yanagisawa
- International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of Tsukuba, Japan; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - William Blessing
- Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Human Physiology, Flinders University , Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Youichirou Ootsuka
- Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Human Physiology, Flinders University , Adelaide, SA, Australia
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Azócar DLM, Bonino MF, Perotti MG, Schulte JA, Abdala CS, Cruz FB. Effect of body mass and melanism on heat balance in Liolaemus lizards of the goetschi clade. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:1162-71. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.129007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 02/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Body temperature of ectotherms depends on the environmental temperatures and behavioral adjustments, but morphology may also affect it. For example, in colder environments animals tend to be larger and show higher thermal inertia, as proposed by Bergmann's rule and the heat balance hypothesis (HBH). Additionally, dark coloration increases solar radiation absorption and should accelerate heat gain (Thermal melanism hypothesis, TMH).
We tested Bergmann's rule, HBH and TMH within the Liolaemus goetschi lizards clade that show variability in body size and melanic coloration. We measured heating and cooling rates of live and euthanized animals, and tested how morphology and color affect these rates. Live organisms show less variable and faster heating rates, compared to cooling rates, suggesting behavioral and/ or physiological adjustments.
Our results support Bergmann's rule and the HBH, as larger species show slower heating and cooling rates. However, we did not find a clear pattern to support TMH. The influence of dorsal melanism on heating by radiation was masked by body size effect in live animals, while results from euthanized individuals show no clear effects of melanism on heating rates either. However, when compared three groups of live individuals with different degree of melanism we found that that darker euthanized animals actually heat faster than lighter ones, favoring TMH. Although unresolved aspects remain, body size and coloration influenced heat exchange suggesting complex thermoregulatory strategies in these lizards, probably regulated through physiology and behavior, what may allow these small lizards to inhabit harsh weather environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Débora Lina Moreno Azócar
- Laboratorio de Fotobiología, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET-UNCOMA, Quintral 1250, Bariloche, 8400 Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Marcelo Fabián Bonino
- Laboratorio de Fotobiología, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET-UNCOMA, Quintral 1250, Bariloche, 8400 Río Negro, Argentina
| | - María Gabriela Perotti
- Laboratorio de Fotobiología, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET-UNCOMA, Quintral 1250, Bariloche, 8400 Río Negro, Argentina
| | - James A. Schulte
- Beloit College, 700 College St., Science Center 338, Beloit, WI 53511, USA
| | - Cristian Simón Abdala
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e I. M. Lillo (UNT), CONICET-Instituto de Herpetología (FML), Tucumán, Argentina. Miguel Lillo 205, 4000, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Félix Benjamín Cruz
- Laboratorio de Fotobiología, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET-UNCOMA, Quintral 1250, Bariloche, 8400 Río Negro, Argentina
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Thermal dependence of sprint performance in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2200-meter elevational gradient: Cold-habitat lizards do not perform better at low temperatures. J Therm Biol 2015; 52:90-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2015] [Revised: 06/01/2015] [Accepted: 06/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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