Vulnerability to climate change of a microendemic lizard species from the central Andes

Laspiur, Alejandro; Santos, Juan Carlos; Medina, Susana Marlin; Pizarro, Jesús; Sanabria, Eduardo Alfredo; Sinervo, Barry; Ibargüengoytía, Nora R.

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-91058-w

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…Studies on the thermal adaptation in lizards have also concluded that widely distributed species are more plastic than narrowly distributed species [84,85]. The vulnerability shown by micro-endemic species in response to climate change has been mentioned in several articles [86][87][88]. During the process of species adaptation to climate change, the mechanisms are specific, such as altering organ size and mitochondrial, proteomic, and metabolomic regulation [84].…”

Section: Differential Gene Expression Of Different Lizards In Regions...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Mitochondrial Genome Expression of Three Sympatric Lizards in Response to Low-Temperature Stress

He,

Zhan,

Meng

et al. 2024

Animals

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Ecological factors related to climate extremes have a significant influence on the adaptability of organisms, especially for ectotherms such as reptiles that are sensitive to temperature change. Climate extremes can seriously affect the survival and internal physiology of lizards, sometimes even resulting in the loss of local populations or even complete extinction. Indeed, studies have shown that the expression levels of the nuclear genes and mitochondrial genomes of reptiles change under low-temperature stress. At present, the temperature adaptability of reptiles has rarely been studied at the mitochondrial genome level. In the present study, the mitochondrial genomes of three species of lizards, Calotes versicolor, Ateuchosaurus chinensis, and Hemidactylus bowringii, which live in regions of sympatry, were sequenced. We used RT-qPCR to explore the level of mitochondrial gene expression under low-temperature stress, as compared to a control temperature. Among the 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), the steady-state transcript levels of ND4L, ND1, ATP6, and COII were reduced to levels of 0.61 ± 0.06, 0.50 ± 0.08, 0.44 ± 0.16, and 0.41 ± 0.09 in C. versicolor, respectively, compared with controls. The transcript levels of the ND3 and ND6 genes fell to levels of just 0.72 ± 0.05 and 0.67 ± 0.05 in H. bowringii, compared with controls. However, the transcript levels of ND3, ND5, ND6, ATP6, ATP8, Cytb, and COIII genes increased to 1.97 ± 0.15, 2.94 ± 0.43, 1.66 ± 0.07, 1.59 ± 0.17, 1.46 ± 0.04, 1.70 ± 0.16, and 1.83 ± 0.07 in A. chinensis. Therefore, the differences in mitochondrial gene expression may be internally related to the adaptative strategy of the three species under low-temperature stress, indicating that low-temperature environments have a greater impact on A. chinensis, with a small distribution area. In extreme environments, the regulatory trend of mitochondrial gene expression in reptiles is associated with their ability to adapt to extreme climates, which means differential mitochondrial genome expression can be used to explore the response of different lizards in the same region to low temperatures. Our experiment aims to provide one new research method to evaluate the potential extinction of reptile species in warm winter climates.

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Section: Differential Gene Expression Of Different Lizards In Regions...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Mitochondrial Genome Expression of Three Sympatric Lizards in Response to Low-Temperature Stress

He,

Zhan,

Meng

et al. 2024

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…We started testing the righting response of the lizard when the terrarium temperature reached 8°C. Righting response was tested every 15 seconds until the lizard could not right itself Biology Open • Accepted manuscript when flipped on its back (Labra & Bozinovic, 2002;Laspiur et al, 2021). The terrarium temperatures were reduced to as low as 2°C.…”

Section: Critical Thermal Maxima (Ct Max ) and Minima (Ct Min )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hotter deserts and the impending challenges for the spiny-tailed Lizard in India

Tatu,

Dutta,

Thaker

2024

Biology Open

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Ectotherms are particularly vulnerable to climate change, especially those living in extreme areas, such as deserts, where species are already thermally constrained. Using the vulnerable herbivorous lizard, Saara hardwickii, as a model system, we used a multi-pronged approach to understand the thermal ecology of a desert agamid and potential impacts of rising temperatures. Our data included field-based measures of operative temperatures, body temperatures, and activity, as well as lab-based measures of thermal limits, preferences, and sprint speed. As expected, the temperature dependence of locomotor performance and foraging activity were different, and in the worst-case global warming scenario (SSP5-8.5), potential sprint speed may decrease by up to 14.5% and foraging activity may decrease by up to 43.5% by 2099. Burrows are essential thermal refuges, and global warming projections suggest that S. hardwickii may be restricted to burrows for up to 9 hours per day by 2099, which would greatly limit critical activities, like foraging and seeking mating opportunities. Overall, we show that key information on thermal ecology, including temperature-sensitive behaviours in the wild, is necessary to understand the multiple ways in which increasing temperatures may influence ectothermic vertebrates, especially for species like S. hardwickii that are already vulnerable to environmental change.

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“…It has been observed that a thermally stressed state makes lizards initiate a shelter-seeking behaviour [ 8 ]. Plasticity in behavioural thermoregulation, particularly shifts in microhabitat use like retreating into refuges, is an effective way to maintain their body temperature within their preferred range [ 6 , 20 , 21 ]. However, according to the “missed opportunities” hypothesis [ 22 ], when thermal quality of the environment (i.e the difference between the mean hourly operative temperature, T e , in the habitat and the set-point range of the species) is poor due to high temperatures, individuals need to spend more time shuttling between sun and refuges [ 8 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural plasticity in activity and sexual interactions in a social lizard at high environmental temperatures

2023

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Sexual selection often shapes social behavioural activities, such as movement in the environment to find possible partners, performance of displays to signal dominance and courtship behaviours. Such activities may be negatively influenced by increasing temperatures, especially in ectotherms, because individuals either have to withstand the unfavourable condition or are forced to allocate more time to thermoregulation by increasing shelter seeking behaviour. Thus, they “miss” opportunities for social and reproductive interactions. Moreover, behavioural displays of ectotherms closely depend on temperature; consequently, mate choice behaviours may be disrupted, ultimately modifying sexual selection patterns. Therefore, it would be interesting to elucidate how increasing temperatures associated with global warming may influence activity and social interactions in the species’ natural habitat and, specifically how high temperatures may modify intersexual interactions. Consequently, our aim was to explore differences in the daily pattern of social interactions in an ectotherm model, Tropidurus spinulosus, in two thermally different habitats and to determine how high temperatures modify mate choice. High environmental temperatures were found to be associated with a bimodal pattern in daily activity, which was closely linked to the daily variations in the thermal quality of the habitat; whereas the pattern and frequency of social displays showed less plasticity. The time allocated to mate choice generally decreased with increasing temperature since individuals increased the use of thermal refuges; this result supports the hypothesis of “missed opportunities”. Moreover, at high temperatures, both sexes showed changes in mate selection dynamics, with females possibly “rushing” mate choice and males showing an increase in intermale variability of reproductive displays. In our ectotherm model, plastic adjustments in the behavioural activity pattern induced by high temperatures, plus the modification of the displays during courtship may ultimately modify mate choice patterns and sexual selection dynamics.

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Vulnerability to climate change of a microendemic lizard species from the central Andes

Cited by 13 publications

References 90 publications

Differential Mitochondrial Genome Expression of Three Sympatric Lizards in Response to Low-Temperature Stress

Differential Mitochondrial Genome Expression of Three Sympatric Lizards in Response to Low-Temperature Stress

Hotter deserts and the impending challenges for the spiny-tailed Lizard in India

Behavioural plasticity in activity and sexual interactions in a social lizard at high environmental temperatures

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