Effect of water constraint on growth rate, activity and body temperature of yearling common lizard ( Lacerta vivipara )

Abstract

We investigated the effect of water constraints on yearling Lacerta vivipara, a widespread species of lizard inhabiting European peat bogs and heath land. We conducted a laboratory experiment to investigate plasticity of growth rate, activity level and preferred body temperature. We subjected individuals of two source habitats (dry vs humid) to two laboratory conditions of water supply resulting in different air relative humidity and water availability (high vs low). We observed that a low water supply induced a lower growth rate and lower activity level, suggesting that growth limitation is correlated with adaptive responses to avoid dehydration. However, individuals from the two habitats selected different body temperatures when restricted in water and showed different ratios between growth and activity. This suggests that there is population variability in phenotypic plasticity with respect to water availability in the habitat. Field observations conducted in six natural populations, classified into two groups (dry vs humid habitat) also suggest that growth rate in nature is constrained by water availability.

Water deprivation increases maternal corticosterone levels and enhances offspring growth in the snake Vipera aspis

“…in predictive models (Huey et al, 2012;McCluney et al, 2012;McKechnie and Wolf, 2010). Although our results suggest that reproductively active individuals may be particularly impacted by dehydration, as demonstrated for other vertebrates (Hirschhorn et al, 1969;Rittenhouse et al, 2009), parental effects may influence offspring physiology and behavior (Lorenzon et al, 1999(Lorenzon et al, , 2001Marquis et al, 2008). Future work could specifically investigate the potential role for parental effects in mediating the impacts of adverse hydric conditions on offspring fitness.…”

“…Water is a vital resource that can profoundly affect animal behavior and performance (Davis and DeNardo, 2009;Lorenzon et al, 1999 …”

Precipitation quantity and timing affect native plant production and growth of a key herbivore, the desert tortoise, in the Mojave Desert

“…Reduced activity in juvenile tortoises in the present study also resulted in fewer foraging and basking behaviors even when green plants were available. In Lacertid lizards, reductions in activity in response to reduced water availability also corresponded to less growth [61]. In the long-term, episodic gains that neonatal tortoises acquire from lowered activity in response to reduced rainfall are thus likely to come with costs, such as lower growth rates [34,42].…”

Decreased precision contributes to the hypoxic thermoregulatory response in lizards

“…Other stress stimuli (that in one way or another increase the costs of thermoregulation), such as low environmental thermal quality, risk of predation, territorial defence, or water or food availability have been shown to evoke similar decreases in T b and/or thermoregulatory precision (Cabanac, 1985;Dewitt, 1967;Huey and Slatkin, 1976;Ladyman and Bradshaw, 2003;Lorenzon et al, 1999;Mathies and Andrews, 1997), suggesting conserved thermoregulatory mechanisms in response to costly conditions. Discovering how these stressors alter the sensation of temperature and the underlying neurophysiological control of T b remains a challenge for future studies.…”