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Are viviparous lizards more vulnerable to climate warming because they have evolved reduced body temperature and heat tolerance?

  • Physiological ecology - original research
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Abstract

Lizards may experience population declines and extinctions on a similar scale to that experienced by amphibians, and climate warming is one hypothesis proposed to explain these declines and extinctions. Within lizards, viviparous species are hypothesized to be more vulnerable to climate warming, because they have evolved reduced body temperature and heat tolerance, but this idea remains untested. To test this hypothesis, we conducted three temperatures (20, 24, and 28 °C) × two species [Phrynocephalus przewalskii (oviparous) and P. putjatia (viviparous)] factorial design experiment that simulated warming on oviparous versus viviparous lizards. Our manipulation of ambient temperature affected activity and thermal preference in both species, birth date in P. putjatia, and egg mass in P. przewalskii; other examined traits (fecundity, reproductive output, and size, morphology, and sprint speed of offspring) were not affected. Neither in P. putjatia nor in P. przewalskii behavioral responses to rising temperatures differ between the sexes. The viviparous species thermoregulated more actively than did the oviparous species, but the two species did not differ in thermal preference. Warming reduced the activity time allotted for thermoregulation in both species, but the effect was more dramatic in the viviparous species. Our data support one of the central predictions that lead to the hypothesis that viviparous lizards are more vulnerable to climate warming; however, this is not because viviparous lizards have evolved reduced body temperature and heat tolerance, but, because warming constrains activity more dramatically in viviparous species.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of China (Projects 31672277, 31470471, 31200282 and 31071910) and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions. We thank Ce Chen, Ya-Qing Liu, and Zhu-Yuan Zhang for help during this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China

    Zheng Wang, Li Ma & Xiang Ji

  2. College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu, China

    Zheng Wang

  3. Hangzhou Key Laboratory for Animal Adaptation and Evolution, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310036, Zhejiang, China

    Li Ma & Min Shao

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  1. Zheng Wang
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Contributions

ZW and XJ conceived and designed the experiments. ZW, LM, and MS performed the experiments. ZW, LM, and XJ analyzed the data. ZW and XJ wrote the manuscript; LM and MS provided editorial advice.

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Correspondence to Xiang Ji.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All experimental procedures complied with the current laws on animal welfare and research in China, and were approved by the Animal Research Ethics Committee of Nanjing Normal University (AREC2010-05-006).

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Communicated by Raoul Van Damme.

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Wang, Z., Ma, L., Shao, M. et al. Are viviparous lizards more vulnerable to climate warming because they have evolved reduced body temperature and heat tolerance?. Oecologia 185, 573–582 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-017-3979-0

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