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Tatu A, Dutta S, Thaker M. Hotter deserts and the impending challenges for the Spiny-tailed Lizard in India. Biol Open 2024; 13:bio060150. [PMID: 38466074 PMCID: PMC11007731 DOI: 10.1242/bio.060150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
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 h 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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Affiliation(s)
- Avichal Tatu
- Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248001, India
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560012, India
- School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Sutirtha Dutta
- Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248001, India
| | - Maria Thaker
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560012, India
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2
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Wittman TN, Carlson TA, Robinson CD, Bhave RS, Cox RM. Experimental removal of nematode parasites increases growth, sprint speed, and mating success in brown anole lizards. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART A, ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 337:852-866. [PMID: 35871281 PMCID: PMC9796785 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Parasites interact with nearly all free-living organisms and can impose substantial fitness costs by reducing host survival, mating success, and fecundity. Parasites may also indirectly affect host fitness by reducing growth and performance. However, experimentally characterizing these costs of parasitism is challenging in the wild because common antiparasite drug formulations require repeated dosing that is difficult to implement in free-living populations, and because the extended-release formulations that are commercially available for livestock and pets are not suitable for smaller animals. To address these challenges, we developed a method for the long-term removal of nematode parasites from brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) using an extended-release formulation of the antiparasite drug ivermectin. This treatment eliminated two common nematode parasites in captive adult males and dramatically reduced the prevalence and intensity of infection by these parasites in wild adult males and females. Experimental parasite removal significantly increased the sprint speed of captive adult males, the mating success of wild adult males, and the growth of wild juveniles of both sexes. Although parasite removal did not have any effect on survival in wild anoles, parasites may influence fitness directly through reduced mating success and indirectly through reduced growth and performance. Our method of long-term parasite manipulation via an extended-release formulation of ivermectin should be readily adaptable to many other small vertebrates, facilitating experimental tests of the extent to which parasites affect host phenotypes, fitness, and eco-evolutionary dynamics in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler N. Wittman
- Department of BiologyUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesvilleVirginiaUSA
| | - Torun A. Carlson
- Department of BiologyUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesvilleVirginiaUSA
| | | | - Rachana S. Bhave
- Department of BiologyUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesvilleVirginiaUSA
| | - Robert M. Cox
- Department of BiologyUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesvilleVirginiaUSA
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3
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Dajčman U, Carretero MA, Megía-Palma R, Perera A, Kostanjšek R, Žagar A. Shared haemogregarine infections in competing lacertids. Parasitology 2022; 149:193-202. [PMID: 35234602 PMCID: PMC11010482 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182021001645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
In parasite–host interactions host species may differ in their ability to fight parasitic infections, while other ecological interactions, including competition, may differentially alter their physiological state, making them even more susceptible to parasites. In this study, we analyse the haemogregarine blood parasites infecting two competing lizard species, Iberolacerta horvathi and Podarcis muralis, and explore host–parasite relationships under different host competition scenarios. Both species were infected with haemogregarine parasites belonging to the genus Karyolysus. Using the 18S rRNA gene, six new Karyolysus haplotypes were identified clustering with other Central and Eastern European samples, and widely shared between both lizard hosts. Haemogregarine infections were detected at all sampled sites with over 50% of individuals parasitized. Overall, I. horvathi was more frequently and also more intensely parasitized than P. muralis, with higher infection rates observed in syntopy. Males of both species tended to be more frequently infected and showed a higher infection intensity than conspecific females. The results suggest that parasitisation by haemogregarines may be relevant in the dynamics of the competitive relationship between these lizard species. More studies, including immunological response analysis, and the identification of the vectors are needed to better understand host–parasite relationships and competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urban Dajčman
- Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Miguel A. Carretero
- CIBIO, InBIO – Research Network in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Rodrigo Megía-Palma
- CIBIO, InBIO – Research Network in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- Department of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Universidad de Alcalá, Parasitology Area, School of Pharmacy, 28805, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Ana Perera
- CIBIO, InBIO – Research Network in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Rok Kostanjšek
- Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Anamarija Žagar
- CIBIO, InBIO – Research Network in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- Department of Organisms and Ecosystem Research, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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4
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Pikalík M, Pipová N, Majláthová V, Connors VA, Majláth I. Lateralization at the individual and population levels of European green lizard in Slovak Karst. Acta Ethol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-021-00382-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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5
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Smolinský R, Hiadlovská Z, Martínková N. Ectoparasite load increase in reproductively active sand lizards. JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.25225/jvb.20128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Radovan Smolinský
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; e-mail:
| | - Zuzana Hiadlovská
- Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic; e-mail:
| | - Natália Martínková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic; e-mail:
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Kaczmarski M, Ziemblińska K, Tryjanowski P. Sand lizards Lacerta agilis with higher digit ratios are more likely to autotomy. J Anat 2020; 237:1103-1113. [PMID: 32659045 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Revised: 05/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Digit ratio is a morphological feature regarded as a biomarker of the balance of sex hormones during early development. The exposure of embryos to a set of sex hormones and the mutual relations between those hormones cause the emergence of individual morphological and/or behavioural characteristics as well as differences between sexes. We have thus hypothesised that differences in one of these morphological traits-digit ratio-may be a proxy representing a tendency towards tail autotomy. The aim of this study is to investigate the digit ratio (2D:3D, 2D:4D, 3D:4D) of the sand lizard, Lacerta agilis, Lacertidae, a species characterised by well-developed sexual dimorphism, whereby females are larger than males. We also tested associations between patterns in digit ratio and caudal autotomy, a common defensive mechanism among lizards. To our knowledge, the relationship between a tendency towards autotomy and digit ratio pattern has never been researched. To date, studies on autotomy have mainly focused on the consequences, costs or evolutionary background of tail loss. Hence, researchers examined mostly the frequency of autotomy in the context of predatory pressure or habitat conditions, omitting an individual's behavioural tendency to shed its tail. However, behavioural traits can affect an individual's exposure to predator attack and consequently the need to use an anti-predator strategy. Thus, following this logic, dropping the tail may be the result of the lizard's intraspecific personality characteristics, resulting from the effect of hormones on behaviour or innate traits. Therefore, we suggest that the inclusion of autotomy as a factor explaining observed digit ratio patterns and their variability between taxa has great potential. We used computerised measurements of photographed limbs to determine the length of digits. We found that the digit ratios for all four limbs were significantly lower in females than in males, excluding the 3D:4D ratio for the right hindlimbs. Therefore, the results confirmed the pattern already observed for most lizards. The novel element in our study is the detection of the relationship between a tendency towards caudal autotomy and digit ratio. Individuals with a tendency towards autotomy have a higher 2D:4D ratio in the right forelimbs and a lower 2D:3D ratio in the right hindlimbs. Obtained results suggest that these morphological characteristics are most likely related to intraspecific differences (between bold and shy individuals) which consequently may determine an individual's reaction or susceptibility to be a prey and escape behaviour. Thus, our results are probably the first attempt to link digit ratio to the susceptibility of lizards to tail autotomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikołaj Kaczmarski
- Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Klaudia Ziemblińska
- Department of Meteorology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Piotr Tryjanowski
- Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland.,Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague 6, Czech Republic
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7
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FernÁndez-RodrÍguez I, BraÑa F. The movement dynamics of autotomized lizards and their tails reveal functional costs of caudal autotomy. Integr Zool 2020; 15:511-521. [PMID: 32297699 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Autotomy has evolved independently several times in different animal lineages. It frequently involves immediate functional costs, so regeneration evolved in many instances to restore the functionality of that body part. Caudal autotomy is a widespread antipredator strategy in lizards, although it may affect energy storage, locomotion dynamics, or survival in future encounters with predators. Here, we assessed the effect of tail loss on the locomotor performance of wall lizards (Podarcis muralis), as well as the recovery of locomotor functionality of lizards with regenerated tails, and the movement dynamics of shed tails that were either intact or having regenerated portions. Tail loss had no effect on locomotion over unhindered spaces, possibly due to compensation between a negative effect on the stride of front limbs, and a positive effect of losing mass and friction force. We found a clear negative impact of tail loss on locomotion in spaces with interspersed obstacles, in which tailed lizards jumped larger distances when leaving the obstacles. Besides, lizards that used the tail to push off the ground were able to approach the obstacles from further, so that the tail seemed to be useful when used during jumping. Regeneration fully restores lizard's locomotor capacities, but tail antipredator value, as indicated by the intensity of post-autotomic movements, is only partially retrieved. From these results, we propose that, together with the recovery of post-autotomy antipredator capacities, the restoration of the organismal locomotor performance may have been an important, yet frequently neglected factor in the evolution of lizard's regeneration ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene FernÁndez-RodrÍguez
- Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (Zoology), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Research Unit of Biodiversity (UMIB, UO/CSIC/PA), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Spain
| | - Florentino BraÑa
- Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (Zoology), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Research Unit of Biodiversity (UMIB, UO/CSIC/PA), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Spain
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8
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Mészáros B, Jordán L, Bajer K, Martín J, Török J, Molnár O. Relationship between oxidative stress and sexual coloration of lizards depends on thermal habitat. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2019; 106:55. [PMID: 31612286 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-019-1649-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sexual signals serve as an honest indicator of individual quality, reflecting either developmental and/or maintenance costs. A possible underlying physiological mechanism is oxidative stress, which could mediate energy trade-offs between sexual signals and other quality traits. In ectotherms, thermal performance acts as a key indicator of individual quality and influence signal intensity. We investigated how oxidative state is reflected in visual signals of lizards from different thermal habitats. According to our hypothesis, efficient thermoregulation requires different strategies in different thermal environments. In a habitat with predictable temperature changes, animals are less exposed to suboptimal temperature ranges and selection will, therefore, be stronger on the maximum oxidative damage at optimal body temperature. Contrarily, in a habitat with rather stochastic thermal shifts, individuals are often constricted by suboptimal thermal conditions, and oxidative damage can be limiting on a wide temperature range. We used Iberolacerta cyreni and Psammodromus algirus inhabiting stochastic and predictable thermal environments respectively. We examined two aspects of oxidative stress: the level of reactive oxygen metabolites at the preferred temperature (maximal ROM) and the temperature range in which animals produce at least 80% of the maximum level of reactive oxygen metabolites (effective ROM range). In I. cyreni, we found that duller coloration was related to a wider effective ROM range, while expression of coloration in P. algirus was negatively correlated with the maximal ROM. Our results suggest that different thermal constraints affect different aspects of oxidative damage which can indicate individual quality and are, therefore, represented in sexual ornaments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boglárka Mészáros
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary.
| | - Lilla Jordán
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
| | - Katalin Bajer
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
| | - José Martín
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary.,Ecology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Molnár
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
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9
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Arakelyan M, Harutyunyan T, Aghayan SA, Carretero MA. Infection of parthenogenetic lizards by blood parasites does not support the "Red Queen hypothesis" but reveals the costs of sex. ZOOLOGY 2019; 136:125709. [PMID: 31539860 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2019.125709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Sexual organisms should be better suited than asexual ones in a context of continuous evolution in response to opposite organisms in changing environments ("Red Queen" hypothesis of sex). However, sex also carries costs associated with the maintenance of males and mating (sex cost hypothesis). Here, both non-mutually excluding hypotheses are tested by analysing the infestation by haemogregarines of mixed communities of Darevskia rock lizards composed of parthenogens generated by hybridisation and their bisexual relatives. Prevalence and intensity were recorded from 339 adult lizards belonging to six species from five syntopic localities and analysed using Generalized Mixed-Models (GLMM). Both infestation parameters depended on host-size (like due to longer exposure with age), sex and, for intensity, species. Once accounting for locality and species, males were more parasitized than conspecific females with bisexual species, but no signal of reproductive mode itself on parasitization was recovered. Essentially, male-male interactions increased haemogregarine intensity while females either sexual or asexual had similar reproductive costs when in the same conditions. These findings deviate from the predictions from "Red Queen" dynamics while asymmetric gender costs are here confirmed. Thus, increased parasitization pressure on males adds to other costs, such as higher social interactions and lower fecundity, to explain why parthenogenetic lizards apparently prevail in the short-term evolutionary scale. How this is translated in the long-term requires further phylogenetic analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Arakelyan
- Faculty of Biology, Yerevan State University, Alek Manoogian 1, 0025, Yerevan, Armenia.
| | - Tehmine Harutyunyan
- Faculty of Biology, Yerevan State University, Alek Manoogian 1, 0025, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Sargis A Aghayan
- Faculty of Biology, Yerevan State University, Alek Manoogian 1, 0025, Yerevan, Armenia; Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology, Sevak str 7, 0014, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Miguel A Carretero
- CIBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, Nº7, 4485-661 Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal
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10
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Do males pay more? A male-biased predation of common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) by great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor). Acta Ethol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-019-00318-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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11
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Pačuta A, Žagar A, Kočíková B, Majláthová V, Mihalca AD, Majláth I. Time matters. Locomotor behavior of Lacerta viridis and Lacerta agilis in an open field maze. Acta Ethol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-018-0287-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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12
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Hoskins AJ, Hare KM, Miller KA, Schumann N, Chapple DG. Repeatability, locomotor performance and trade-offs between performance traits in two lizard species, Oligosoma alani and O. smithi. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blx113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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13
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Dudek K, Skórka P, Sajkowska ZA, Ekner-Grzyb A, Dudek M, Tryjanowski P. Distribution pattern and number of ticks on lizards. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2016; 7:172-179. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2014] [Revised: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 10/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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14
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McElroy EJ, de Buron I. Host Performance as a Target of Manipulation by Parasites: A Meta-Analysis. J Parasitol 2014; 100:399-410. [DOI: 10.1645/13-488.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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