Lizard life‐history strategies

Mesquita, Daniel Oliveira; Faria, Renato Gomes; Colli, Guarino R.; Vitt, Laurie J.; Pianka, Eric R.

doi:10.1111/aec.12276

Cited by 22 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…We studied the biogeography of functional groups of lizards, the most species rich and ecologically diverse group within the Reptilia, constituting 60% of the entire class (Uetz, ). Lizards are a phylogenetically ancient and diverse group, demonstrating wide variation in morphological, physiological, behavioural and ecological characteristics (e.g., Pianka & Vitt, ; Losos, ; Mesquita, Faria, Colli, Vitt, & Pianka, ). Most importantly, lizards are of great conservation concern because of their small ranges (Meiri et al, ; Meiri & Chapple, ) and their sensitivity to habitat alterations, climatic changes, direct prosecution and introduced species (e.g., Ribeiro, Metzger, Martensen, Ponzoni, & Hirota, ; Sinervo, , Pincheira‐Donoso, Tregenza, Witt, & Hodgson, ; Slavenko, Tallowin, Itescu, Raia, & Meiri, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The global biogeography of lizard functional groups

Vidan

Novosolov

Bauer

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Understanding the mechanisms determining species richness is a primary goal of biogeography. Richness patterns of sub‐groups within a taxon are usually assumed to be driven by similar processes. However, if richness of distinct ecological strategies respond differently to the same processes, inferences made for an entire taxon may be misleading. We deconstruct the global lizard assemblage into functional groups and examine the congruence among richness patterns between them. We further examine the species richness – functional richness relationship to elucidate the way functional diversity contributes to the overall species richness patterns. Location Global. Methods Using comprehensive biological trait databases we classified the global lizard assemblage into ecological strategies based on body size, diet, activity times and microhabitat preferences, using Archetypal Analysis. We then examined spatial gradients in the richness of each strategy at the one‐degree grid cell, biome, and realm scales. Results We found that lizards can best be characterized by seven “ecological strategies”: scansorial, terrestrial, nocturnal, herbivorous, fossorial, large, and semi‐aquatic. There are large differences among the global richness patterns of these strategies. While the major richness hotspot for lizards in general is in Australia, several strategies exhibit highest richness in the Amazon Basin. Importantly, the global maximum in lizard species richness is achieved at intermediate values of functional diversity and increasing functional diversity further result in a slow decline of species richness. Main conclusions The deconstruction of the global lizard assemblage along multiple ecological axes offers a new way to conceive lizard diversity patterns. It suggests that local lizard richness mostly increases when species belonging to particular ecological strategies become hyper‐diverse there, and not because more ecological types are present in the most species rich localities. Thus maximum richness and maximum ecological diversity do not overlap. These results shed light on the global richness pattern of lizards, and highlight previously unidentified spatial patterns in understudied functional groups.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The global biogeography of lizard functional groups

Vidan

Novosolov

Bauer

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Communal nesting is a recurrent feature of gecko evolution (Graves andDuvall 1995, Doody 2009) and, notably, species of the family Phyllodactylidae display some of the highest levels of investment per progeny of all lizard families (Mesquita 2016b). Therefore, t nesting might be related to the high reproductive investment in relation to the low female longevity found in species (Mesquita 2016b).…”

Section: Gymnodactylus Amaralimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, t nesting might be related to the high reproductive investment in relation to the low female longevity found in species (Mesquita 2016b). The same relationship might explain why this behavior is present in so many phyllodactylid species (Figure 2).…”

Section: Gymnodactylus Amaralimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Communal nesting has evolved independently several times during the history of squamates (Doody 2009), but appears to be particularly prevalent in geckos (Graves andDuvall 1995, Doody 2009). Clutch size is a phylogenetically conserved attribute in geckos (Vitt 1986, Sinervo 1994, and most species produce only one or two eggs at a time (Mesquita , 2016a, which is a relatively small number compared to most other lizard families (Mesquita 2016b). The repeated evolution of communal nesting in geckos might be a behavioral adaptation in response to this clutch size constraint, as it potentially increases female (Blouin-Demers 2004, Radder andShine 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nesting in the lizard Phyllopezus pollicaris (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) and a phylogenetic perspective on communal nesting in the family

Domingos

Arantes²,

Bosque³

et al. 2017

Phyllomedusa

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Nesting in the lizard Phyllopezus pollicaris (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) and a phylogenetic perspective on communal nesting in the family. Communal nesting occurs in many reptile species. The hypotheses that explain the evolution of such behaviours are still controversial, but will be better understood as more communal nesting records are a communal nesting record for squamate species in a Cerrado core area. We provide nest photographs and detailed neonate measurements and weight. Nests were found during the dry season, in contrast with the reproduction pattern previously described for the species in the Cerrado periphery. We also conducted an extensive literature review seeking all available information on communal nesting information in Phyllodactylidae, and present this information in the context of a phylogenetic tree of phyllodactylid genera. We suggest that studying the correlation between communal nesting evolution and reproductive available in the literature. Keywords

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“…Su variación y heredabilidad son fundamentales para producir fenotipos con potencial adaptivo bajo selección natural (Stearns, 1976;Iraeta, Salvador & Díaz, 2012). Se ha documentado la relación y efectos del peso y el tamaño corporal sobre algunos atributos de historia de vida (frecuencia reproductora, tamaño y masa relativa de la camada o nidada) (Angilleta, Oufiero & Leaché, 2006;Brandt & Navas, 2011), los cuales a menudo están influidos por variaciones ambientales y la heterogeneidad del hábitat (Mesquita, Gomes-Faria, Rinaldi-Colli, Vitt & Pianka, 2016). El tamaño y la forma corporal (capacidad abdominal) se pueden considerar como un atributo de historia de vida en sí mismo, ya que su variación tiene efectos directos sobre la adecuación.…”

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Implicaciones de la precipitación sobre la evolución del tamaño corporal y distancia interaxilar en el complejo Aspidoscelis gularis (Squamata: Teiidae)

Pérez-Almazán

Manríquez–Morán

Balderas-Plata

et al. 2017

RBT

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Rainfall implications on body size evolution of Aspidoscelis gularis (Squamata: Teiidae). Life history traits are highly variable attributes that maximize organisms's fitness. The relationship of weight and body size with environmental changes and habitat heterogeneity has been documented in previous reports; and size and body shapes are both considered life history attributes that are associated with rainfall, that boost available resources in the environment. While in Aspidoscelis genus, clutch size and relative mass are mainly associated with latitude and altitude, in Aspidoscelis gularis, winter rainfall favors two reproductive seasons, which may determine season variable clutch size. With the aim to study this, samplings were undertaken from May-July 2013, and May-September 2015. A total of 65 individuals lizards of the Southeast clade were obtained, and body length and interaxilar distance measurements were taken; furthermore, hepatic tissue samples were taken for DNA extraction, which allowed us to analyze phylogenetic relationships through a Bayesian Inference analysis, and subsequently, to apply Phylogenetic Comparative Methods (like phylogenetic signal, phylogenetically independent contrasts and reconstruction of ancestral character). Our results showed that there is a low phylogenetic signal regarding body size and shape, while the phylogenetically independent contrasts and reconstruction of ancestral characters suggest that small body sizes are associated to locations with highest rainfall. This can be associated to an establishment of an early sexual maturity, which reflects the maximum size of adults. Furthermore, according to an ANOVA and ANCOVA, there were statistically significant differences in body size and shape respectively, which promote a system for sexual competition for males and a system for fertility in females. These results were important to determine the effect of rainfall on some life history traits, pointing out that lizards of the Southeast clade, belonging to the A. gularis complex were able to face different selection pressures, determined by the environment. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65 (2): 725-733. Epub 2017 June 01.

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Lizard life‐history strategies

Cited by 22 publications

References 53 publications

The global biogeography of lizard functional groups

The global biogeography of lizard functional groups

Nesting in the lizard Phyllopezus pollicaris (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) and a phylogenetic perspective on communal nesting in the family

Implicaciones de la precipitación sobre la evolución del tamaño corporal y distancia interaxilar en el complejo Aspidoscelis gularis (Squamata: Teiidae)

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