Thermal ecology and activity patterns of six species of tropical night lizards (Squamata: Xantusiidae: Lepidophyma ) from Mexico

Thermoregulatory strategies of three reclusive lizards (genus Xantusia) from the Baja California peninsula, Mexico, under current and future microenvironmental temperatures

“…Although xantusiids are often thought as strictly nocturnal lizards, there is evidence of diurnal activity in many species (Arenas-Moreno et al, 2018;Grismer, 2002;Lee, 1974;Mautz, 1979).…”

“…To record operative temperatures ( T e ), we first analyzed, through simple linear regressions, the heating and cooling rates under laboratory conditions (10‐min intervals of shade and artificial incandescent light, 100 W) of an adult individual of Xantusia and several polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes of different color shades and sizes (Arenas‐Moreno et al, 2018; Dzialowski, 2005). The model that best reflected the thermodynamic properties of the organisms ( r 2 = 0.8) consisted of a PVC pipe painted smoke gray 264, according to the Köhler (2012) color catalogue, and similar in size to the study species (50 mm length × 15 mm diameter).…”

“…In particular, ectotherms' activity and movement patterns tend to be influenced by the thermal quality of the habitat and microhabitat (Sinclair et al, 2004; Woolrich‐Piña et al, 2006). A clear example of this are lizards of the family Xantusiidae, as these organisms have been documented to tightly rely on habitat thermal quality, being associated to specific microhabitats, despite the highly diverse types of habitat they occupy, and exploit favorable nighttime or daytime temperatures, often in a cathemeral (i.e., diurnal and nocturnal) activity pattern (Arenas‐Moreno et al, 2018; Bezy & Camarillo, 2002; Grismer, 2002; Sinclair et al, 2004).…”

“…Nevertheless, it is not clear how habitat‐restricted organisms, such as xantusiid lizards, will respond to climate change. For instance, although Sinervo et al (2010) projected that xantusiids will be relatively unaffected by climate change due to their ability to be active at night, some species in this family are mainly diurnal and stenothermal (Arenas‐Moreno et al, 2018; Lara‐Resendiz, 2020; Mautz & Case, 1974). Hence, a species‐level assessment of the vulnerability to climate change based on ecophysiological data would be valuable to anticipate the effects of increasing global temperatures on this clade of lizards.…”

Ecología térmica y riesgo de extinción ante el cambio climático de Gonatodes concinnatus (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae), una lagartija endémica de la Amazonía occidental

“…3). El segundo es mediante ajustes conductuales, que involucraría la modificación del horario de actividad de los individuos (optar por una estrategia catemeral o nocturna) según la calidad térmica del hábitat (Arenas-Moreno et al, 2018;Diele-Viegas et al, 2018). El tercero es mediante plasticidad fisiológica, en caso de que los individuos de G. concinnatus puedan aumentar su tolerancia al calor como respuesta al aumento de la temperatura ambiental, como puede ocurrir en otros ectotermos (Palumbi et al, 2014;Pörtner et al, 2009).…”