Living on the edge? – On the thermobiology and activity pattern of the large herbivorous desert lizard Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis Blanford, 1875 at Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, Saudi Arabia

Wilms, Thomas; Wagner, Philipp; Shobrak, Mohammed; Rödder, Dennis; Böhme, Wolfgang

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.02.003

Cited by 28 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…U. aegyptia is the largest member of the genus, reaching over 700 mm snout-vent length (SVL) and nearly 3 kg body mass ( m b ) [24], [25], [26] and (C.R. Tracy, pers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The species is primarily herbivorous, feeding mainly on leaves and flowers, although they will occasionally take insects [23], [27]–[29]. U. aegyptia is thermophilic, maintaining body temperatures ( T b ) in the field of 35–40°C when active, and tolerating activity temperatures up to 47°C [26].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rock shelters and heat lamps allowed the lizards to select T b from 30–42°C during the day. We implanted iButton data loggers in some of the captive lizards for another study, so we are confident that available and selected temperatures in the enclosure were similar to those of animals in the field in May 2005 (C. R. Tracy, unpublished data) and similar to temperatures of U. a. microlepis measured elsewhere in their range [26].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Paracellular Absorption Is Relatively Low in the Herbivorous Egyptian Spiny-Tailed Lizard, Uromastyx aegyptia

et al. 2013

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Absorption of small water-soluble nutrients in vertebrate intestines occurs both by specific, mediated transport and by non-specific, passive, paracellular transport. Although it is apparent that paracellular absorption represents a significant route for nutrient absorption in many birds and mammals, especially small, flying species, its importance in ectothermic vertebrates has not previously been explored. Therefore, we measured fractional absorption (ƒ) and absorption rate of three paracellular probes (arabinose, l-rhamnose, cellobiose) and of 3-O-methyl d-glucose (absorbed by both mediated and paracellular pathways) by the large herbivorous lizard, Uromastyx aegyptia, to explore the relative importance of paracellular and mediated transport in an ectothermic, terrestrial vertebrate. Fractional absorption of 3-O-methyl d-glucose was high (ƒ = 0.73±0.04) and similar to other vertebrates; ƒ of the paracellular probes was relatively low (arabinose ƒ = 0.31±0.03, l-rhamnose ƒ = 0.19±0.02, and cellobiose ƒ = 0.14±0.02), and decreased with molecular mass, a pattern consistent with other vertebrates. Paracellular absorption accounted for approximately 24% of total 3-O-methyl d-glucose uptake, indicating low reliance on this pathway for these herbivorous lizards, a pattern similar to that found in other terrestrial vertebrates, and different from small flying endotherms (both birds and bats).

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“…U. aegyptia is the largest member of the genus, reaching over 700 mm snout-vent length (SVL) and nearly 3 kg body mass ( m b ) [24], [25], [26] and (C.R. Tracy, pers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Paracellular Absorption Is Relatively Low in the Herbivorous Egyptian Spiny-Tailed Lizard, Uromastyx aegyptia

et al. 2013

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“…; Wilms et al . ). Although colour matching is the same for a T e thermometer of any geometry, the relative weightings of air temperature, wind speed, solar radiation and thermal radiation depend on geometry.…”

Section: The Devil Is In the Details Of Operative Temperature Thermommentioning

confidence: 97%

“…To accurately estimate operative temperature, a sensor must duplicate all relevant external properties of the animal (Bakken 1976a Wilms et al 2011). Although colour matching is the same for a T e thermometer of any geometry, the relative weightings of air temperature, wind speed, solar radiation and thermal radiation depend on geometry.…”

Section: S I Z E S H a P E A N D C O L O U Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to avoid errors when quantifying thermal environments

2013

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Summary 1.Modelling thermal environments at high resolution becomes simpler when using operative temperature, which condenses microclimate and morphology into an index of thermal stress. Operative temperature can be mapped using large numbers of 'operative temperature thermometers', hollow models that duplicate external properties of the animal. 2. As climatologists predict that air will warm by 2-4°C by 2100, biologists must be able to distinguish climate change from systematic errors in operative temperature of the same magnitude. 3. A systematic error in operative temperature of 2°C or a similar amount of climate warming can change predicted surface activity and indices of habitat quality, thermoregulatory precision and predation risk by 5-12%, and in some cases more than 30%. 4. As construction details of operative temperature thermometers can affect their accuracy by 2°C or more, biologists should use detailed physical models calibrated against living animals over potential ranges of postures, orientations and microclimates. 5. Water-filled models do not measure operative temperature correctly, fail to capture thermal extremes and are an unnecessary complication as one can easily compute the body temperature of moving or stationary animals from body mass and the spatio-temporal distribution of operative temperatures.

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Diet composition of omnivorous Mesopotamian spiny‐tailed lizards (Saara loricata) in arid human‐altered landscapes of Southwest Iran

Qashqaei¹,

Ghaedi

Coogan

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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The Mesopotamian spiny‐tailed lizard, Saara loricata , is one of the largest lizard species in the Middle East. Here, we report on the diet of the lizard and their potential role in seed dispersal in Southwestern Iran. We analyzed lizard fecal pellet groups ( n = 124) for their food item composition and seed content. We calculated the relative frequency of occurrence (FO%), relative volume (V%), and importance value (IV%) for each food item. Moreover, the number of seeds of each plant food item was counted. Our findings reveal the first solid evidence of omnivorous behavior in the lizard. In total, 16 plant food items and 14 animal food items were identified. Herbaceous plants (IV = 110.2%) and invertebrates (4.8%) were the most important food groups. The plant food items with the highest FO% were Poaceae (56.4%), Centaurea sp. (43.5%), and Medicago polymorpha (27.4%); and the V% for these items were 53.6%, 30.9%, and 13.1%, respectively. Most of the seeds that were consumed by lizards were from Poaceae (547 seeds; 47.81%) and Fabaceae (285 seeds; 24.91%). We also found that each individual lizard could play an equal role in the seed dispersal of all plant families identified. Previous studies show that plant species density and richness are important features for the burrow site selection of Mesopotamian spiny‐tailed lizard. This study highlights the potential role of lizards in influencing the vegetation communities around their burrows through seed dispersal.

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Living on the edge? – On the thermobiology and activity pattern of the large herbivorous desert lizard Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis Blanford, 1875 at Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, Saudi Arabia

Cited by 28 publications

References 34 publications

Paracellular Absorption Is Relatively Low in the Herbivorous Egyptian Spiny-Tailed Lizard, Uromastyx aegyptia

Paracellular Absorption Is Relatively Low in the Herbivorous Egyptian Spiny-Tailed Lizard, Uromastyx aegyptia

How to avoid errors when quantifying thermal environments

Diet composition of omnivorous Mesopotamian spiny‐tailed lizards (Saara loricata) in arid human‐altered landscapes of Southwest Iran

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