Open AccessQuantification of correlational selection on thermal physiology, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism in lizards
Author(s) -
Artacho Paulina,
Saravia Julia,
Ferrandière Beatriz Decencière,
Perret Samuel,
Le Galliard JeanFrançois
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.1548
Subject(s) - ectotherm , biology , basal metabolic rate , lizard , natural selection , evolutionary physiology , thermoregulation , metabolic rate , sauria , selection (genetic algorithm) , ecology , zoology , physiology , evolutionary ecology , endocrinology , host (biology) , computer science , artificial intelligence
Phenotypic selection is widely accepted as the primary cause of adaptive evolution in natural populations, but selection on complex functional properties linking physiology, behavior, and morphology has been rarely quantified. In ectotherms, correlational selection on thermal physiology, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism is of special interest because of their potential coadaptation. We quantified phenotypic selection on thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance (sprint speed), thermal preferences, and resting metabolic rate in captive populations of an ectothermic vertebrate, the common lizard, Z ootoca vivipara . No correlational selection between thermal sensitivity of performance, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism was found. A combination of high body mass and resting metabolic rate was positively correlated with survival and negatively correlated with fecundity. Thus, different mechanisms underlie selection on metabolism in lizards with small body mass than in lizards with high body mass. In addition, lizards that selected the near average preferred body temperature grew faster that their congeners. This is one of the few studies that quantifies significant correlational selection on a proxy of energy expenditure and stabilizing selection on thermoregulatory behavior.