Parasites are ubiquitous and can have large impacts on the fitness of their hosts. The effects of ectoparasites on physiology, behaviour, and immune function suggest that they could be part of the factors which impact thermoregulation. We tested the hypothesis that ectoparasites impact thermoregulation in Yarrow’s Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus jarrovii Cope in Yarrow, 1875) living along an elevational gradient. We predicted a positive association between ectoparasite load and body temperature (Tb), and a negative association between ectoparasite load and effectiveness of thermoregulation (de – db index). We also predicted that the impacts of ectoparasites would be greatest at high elevation where thermal quality of the environment is low because the costs of thermoregulation increase with elevation and these costs can impact thermal immune responses. We found a significant association between the number of chiggers (Trombiculoidea) harboured by lizards and Tb that depended on elevation, but no association between ectoparasite load and de – db index. The mean chigger infection rate was associated with a ΔTb of +0.18 °C at low elevation (consistent with fever) and of –1.07 °C at high elevation (consistent with hypothermia). These findings suggest that parasitism by chiggers impacts lizard Tb in a way that depends on environmental thermal quality.

We describe an unusual aggregation of Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) near a nest site in Saskatchewan. Bullsnake is a wide-ranging oviparous colubrid that reaches the northern tip of its continental range on the prairies and badlands of Canada. At that location, it is considered a species of Special Concern, but, until recently, has been the subject of relatively few natural history reports. This is significant, because, at the northern edge of their range, Bullsnakes may behave differently than elsewhere due to thermal limitations experienced at high latitudes. On 29 June 2019, we observed a mass of five adult Bullsnakes in a Silver Sagebrush (Artemisia cana) shrub on a slope in southwestern Saskatchewan. Aggregations of Bullsnakes are known to occur at hibernacula, during mating, and inside nest chambers before and after oviposition. However, we are unaware of the occurrence of surface aggregations in any other situation. We suggest that these Bullsnakes may have been exhibiting communal gestation, a behaviour thought to be rare in oviparous snakes whereby gravid females congregate before parturition or oviposition for thermal stability or protection from predators.

Reptiles living in the grasslands of Western Canada cope with extremely variable environmental temperatures. We studied body temperatures (Tb) and operative environmental temperatures (Te) for bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi Schlegel, 1837) to address uncertainties regarding challenges posed by the thermal environments of northern grasslands, and to evaluate conflicting hypotheses regarding thermoregulatory strategies. Despite potentially extreme surface temperatures (x̄min = 9.3, x̄max = 31.4°C), mammal burrows remained within voluntary limits (15 – 35°C) for 93 % of the active season and created thermal gradients (up to 27.2°C) which may facilitate thermoregulation by creating high thermal heterogeneity. This evidence suggests that grasslands may actually be less challenging for thermoregulation than comparable forests. 57.8 % of the variation in observed Tb (x̄min = 20.1, x̄max = 29.1°C) was explained by 3 simple variables: time of day, day of year, and bare ground Te. Bullsnakes thermoregulated by conforming to Te near their preferred range (21 to 27°C), selecting locations that enabled heating up below this range, and avoiding warmth above this range. Our results support broad hypotheses of reptilian thermoregulation that predict increased thermoregulation when a) environmental temperatures deviate further from preferred ranges and b) costs of thermoregulation are lower due to thermal heterogeneity.