Moderate climate warming scenarios during embryonic and post‐embryonic stages benefit a cold‐climate lizard

Abstract

Warming temperatures caused by climate change are predicted to vary temporally and spatially. For mid‐ and high‐latitude reptiles, the seasonal variation in warming temperatures experienced by embryos and hatchlings may determine offspring fitness, yet this has remained largely unexplored. To evaluate the independent and interactive influence of seasonal variation in warming temperatures on embryonic and hatchling development, we incubated eggs and reared hatchlings of a cold‐climate oviparous ectothermic species, the Heilongjiang grass lizard (Takydromus amurensis), following a 2 × 2 factorial design (present climate versus warming climate for embryos × present climate versus warming climate for hatchlings). We then evaluated embryonic and hatchling development, including hatching success, incubation period, initial hatchling body size, hatchling metabolic rate, growth rate and survival in the mesocosms. We found that warming temperatures shortened the incubation period and produced hatchlings with higher survival rates than those incubated under the present climate conditions. Similarly, hatchlings reared under a warming climate had similar growth rates and resting metabolic rates, but higher survival rates than those reared under the present climate. Hatchlings that experienced both warming incubation and warming growth conditions had the highest survival rates. This study revealed that moderate warming temperatures (Representative Concentration Pathway, RCP 4.5, 1.1–2.6°C) experienced by embryos and hatchlings interact to benefit hatchling fitness in cold‐climate oviparous ectotherms. Our study also highlighted the importance of integrating seasonal variation in warming temperatures when evaluating the responses to climate warming in multiple developmental stages in oviparous ectotherms.

Temperate and tropical lizards are vulnerable to climate warming due to increased water loss and heat stress

“…latitudinal or altitudinal) variations in species vulnerabilities to climate warming, our study highlights the importance of assessing species vulnerability at a local scale using high-resolution climate data and species traits to fully evaluate the biological impact of warming. Previous research predicted temperate lizards would be at lower risk of climate warming than tropical species, because temperate species are exposed to temperatures well below their thermal optima, and thus may be at reduced risk, or even benefit from increasing temperatures [4,14,94]. By contrast, we found that temperate lizards would be also highly vulnerable to warming because of increased water loss and rise of heat stress by extreme high temperature under climate warming.…”

Editorial: Ecophysiological analysis of vulnerability to climate warming in ectotherms

“…Ectotherms are sensitive to seasonal variations in environmental temperature (Taylor et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2022). In particular, tropical ectotherms already live in temperatures close to their optimum physiological levels (Deutsch et al, 2008).…”

“…Lizards from medium and high latitudes could respond to thermal variation through multiple levels of metabolic acclimation, whereas their congeners from low latitudes lacked any level of modification and are thus more vulnerable to global warming (Sun et al, 2022). Embryonic and hatchling development can be improved by moderate warming in Lacerta agilis from the low-latitude margin population of a high-altitude species (Cui et al), and moderate warming benefits hatchling fitness in the cold-climate lizard, Takydromus amurensis (Liu et al, 2022). In tropical regions, species with limited dispersal abilities, small geographic ranges, and restrictions to high altitudes are particularly vulnerable to extinction (Huey et al, 2012).…”

Heat wave induces oxidative damage in the Chinese pond turtle (Mauremys reevesii) from low latitudes

“…Previous studies on P. sinensis (Hebei, 39°58′N) and M. mutica (Zhejiang, 30°46′N) have been conducted on turtles from high latitudes (Zhang et al, 2019;Li et al, 2021). As it may be that high-latitude reptiles live at temperatures lower than their physiological optimum (Hao et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2022), higher environmental temperatures would be beneficial for their functions (Huey et al, 2009), and heat waves may not lead to significant oxidative damage. Similarly, in the present study, the MDA content of high latitude specimens did not increase after exposure to heat waves.…”