Thermal biology of Liolaemus scapularis (Iguania:Liolaemidae) from argentinian northwest.

Autor: Salva AG; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Fundación Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo 251, 4000, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina; Instituto de Ecología, Comportamiento y Conservación, Fundación Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo 251, T4000JFE, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. Electronic address: anagsalva@gmail.com., Robles CI; Instituto de Ecología, Comportamiento y Conservación, Fundación Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo 251, T4000JFE, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina., Tulli MJ; Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, (CONICET-FML), Fundación Miguel Lillo, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e IML, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of thermal biology [J Therm Biol] 2021 May; Vol. 98, pp. 102924. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Apr 02.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.102924
Abstrakt: Thermal traits knowledge is elemental to forecasting the impacts of environmental change on lizard diversity. Daily and seasonal environmental temperature fluctuations are amplified in desert and semi-desert species. As ectotherms, they can ameliorate physiological constrains through behavioral thermoregulation. Herein, we explored the thermal biology and behavioral related aspects of the endangered sand lizard Liolaemus scapularis and compared it between austral spring and summer seasons. The study was carried out in a north sector of Medanos de Cafayate in the SW of Salta province, Argentina. Mean field-body temperature (Tb) of L. scapularis was 35.72 °C ranging from 29.10 to 41.10 °C. Regression analyzes showed that substrate temperature (Ts) was the parameter that best explained the variability of the Tb. Body temperature in spring was only positively related to Ts, whereas in summer the Tb was positively related to air temperature (Ta). Despite GLMs indicated that the Tb of L. scapularis result statistically unchanged through seasons sampled and sexes, micro-environmental temperatures were different for males and females between sampled seasons. The behavioral thermoregulation trait assessed, sun exposure, revealed that the use of patches with different sun input varied with temperature parameters and between seasons. This behavioral trait seems to have a crucial role in the thermal strategy of these lizards in order to maintain an optimal homeostatic state avoiding overheating; still the Tb recorded for the studied population places Liolaemus scapularis in the upper range for the genus. Our results suggest that the species is an active thermoregulator with a hit gain through sand conduction mainly, a relevant shuttling behavior and seasonal intraspecific shifts.
(Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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