Premium
Thermal biology and locomotor performance in Phymaturus calcogaster : are Patagonian lizards vulnerable to climate change?
Author(s) -
OBREGÓN Rosa L.,
SCOLARO Jose A.,
IBARGÜENGOYTÍA Nora R.,
MEDINA Marlin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
integrative zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 34
ISSN - 1749-4877
DOI - 10.1111/1749-4877.12481
Subject(s) - ectotherm , lizard , ecology , global warming , climate change , biology , population , niche , environmental change , herbivore , phenotypic plasticity , demography , sociology
Behavioral and physiological traits of ectotherms are especially sensitive to fluctuations of environmental temperature. In particular, niche‐specialist lizards are dependent on their physiological plasticity to adjust to changing environmental conditions. Lizards of the genus Phymaturus are viviparous, mainly herbivorous, and inhabit only rock promontories in the steppe environments of Patagonia and the Andes. Herein, we examine the vulnerability of the southernmost Phymaturus species to global warming: the endemic Phymaturus calcogaster , which lives in a mesic environment in eastern Patagonia. We studied body temperatures in the field ( T b ), preferred body temperatures in a thermogradient ( T pref ), the operative ( T e ) and environmental temperatures, and the dependence of running performance on body temperature. P. calcogaster had a mean T b (27.04°C) and a mean T e (31.15°C) both lower than their preferred temperature ( T pref = 36.61°C) and the optimal temperature for running performance ( T o = 37.13°C). Lizard activity seems to be restraint during the early afternoon due high environmental temperatures. However, both, the high safety margin and warming tolerance suggest that the expected increase in environmental temperatures due to global warming (IPCC report in 2018) would not threaten, but indeed enhance locomotor performance in this population.