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Cui L, Yang C, Zhang D, Lin S, Zhao W, Liu P. Beneficial Effects of Warming Temperatures on Embryonic and Hatchling Development in a Low-Latitude Margin Population of the High-Latitude Lizard Lacerta agilis. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.845309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The effects of warming temperatures on embryonic and hatchling development are critical for determining the vulnerability of species to climate warming. However, these effects have rarely been investigated in high-latitude oviparous species, particularly in their low-latitude margin populations. This study investigated the embryonic and hatchling development and fitness-related traits of a low-latitude margin population of a high-latitude lizard (Lacerta agilis). These traits were examined under present (24°C), moderate warming (27 and 30°C), and severe warming scenarios (33°C). Based on embryonic and hatchling responses to thermal variation, this study aimed to predict the vulnerability of the early life stages of low-latitude margin population of Lacerta agilis to climate warming. The incubation period of the low-latitude margin population of Lacerta agilis decreased as the temperature increased from 24 to 33°C. Hatching success was similar at 24, 27, and 30°C but decreased significantly at 33°C. No differences with temperature were observed for hatchling snout-vent length and hatchling body mass. The sprint speed was higher for hatchlings from temperatures of 24 and 33°C. The growth rate of hatchlings was highest at 30°C; however, the survival rate of hatchlings was not affected by the thermal environment. This study demonstrated that even for a low-latitude margin population of the high-latitude lizard, Lacerta agilis, moderate warming (i.e., 27 and 30°C) would benefit embryonic and hatchling development. This was indicated by the results showing higher hatching success, growth rate, and survival rate. However, if temperatures increase above 33°C, development and survival would be depressed significantly. Thus, low-latitude margin population of high-latitude species Lacerta agilis would benefit from climate warming in the near future but would be under stress if the nest temperature exceeded 30°C.
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Watson CM, Cox CL. Elevation, oxygen, and the origins of viviparity. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2021; 336:457-469. [PMID: 34254734 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Research focused on understanding the evolutionary factors that shape parity mode evolution among vertebrates have long focused on squamate reptiles (snakes and lizards), which contain all but one of the evolutionary transitions from oviparity to viviparity among extant amniotes. While most hypotheses have focused on the role of cool temperatures in favoring viviparity in thermoregulating snakes and lizards, there is a growing appreciation in the biogeographic literature for the importance of lower oxygen concentrations at high elevations for the evolution of parity mode. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying how hypoxia might reduce fitness, and how viviparity can alleviate this fitness decrement, has not been systematically evaluated. We qualitatively evaluated previous research on reproductive and developmental physiology, and found that (1) hypoxia can negatively affect fitness of squamate embryos, (2) oxygen availability in the circulatory system of adult lizards can be similar or greater than an egg, and (3) gravid females can possess adaptive phenotypic plasticity in response to hypoxia. These findings suggest that the impact of hypoxia on the development and physiology of oviparous and viviparous squamates would be a fruitful area of research for understanding the evolution of viviparity. To that end, we propose an integrative research program for studying hypoxia and the evolution of viviparity in squamates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles M Watson
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Christian L Cox
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
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Paulissen MA. Pattern biases, but not positional cues, influence learning in the little brown skink, Scincella lateralis. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Studies of many lizard species have established they are capable of learning to escape to one specific retreat out of several available retreats and will escape to it when subjected to a simulated predator attack. Recently, researchers have focused on the processes involved in learning, including what cues lizards use to learn to escape to a retreat. Previous work on the little brown skink lizard, Scincella lateralis, has shown that it is capable of learning to escape to a specific retreat when it has gained prior experience with its environment and that its performance is better when a retreat is associated with a vertical stripe local cue than when the retreat was associated with a horizontal stripe one. Here I report the results of two additional experiments undertaken to gain a better understanding of how little brown skinks react to cues in their environment. In Experiment 1, the positional cue test, I tested if little brown skinks could be trained to escape to a specific retreat when the only cue available was a positional cue that lizards could use to orient themselves by conducting a series of trials in which little brown skinks were trained to escape to the retreat to the left or the right of a vertical cylinder. Only 2 of the 16 (12.5%) little brown skinks met the learning criterion. This was not significantly different from what is expected if lizards chose their retreats at random suggesting little brown skinks are poor at learning when only a positional cue is available. In Experiment 2, the pattern bias test, I tested if the little brown skink’s superior performance learning to escape to a retreat with a vertical stripe cue in previous experiments was due to a bias for vertical stripes (or against horizontal stripes) through a series of trials in which little brown skinks had to choose between two escape retreats: one with a vertical stripe local cue and the other with a horizontal stripe local cue. A significant bias for the vertical stripe local cue retreat was found among 24 adults, but not among 12 neonates. These results suggest pattern bias among adult little brown skinks impacted the results of previous studies. The possibility that lizards may have biases for colours or shapes and that these biases may have an impact on learning studies is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Paulissen
- Department of Natural Sciences, Northeastern State University, 600 N. Grand Avenue, Tahlequah, OK 74464, USA
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Szabo B, Noble DWA, Whiting MJ. Learning in non-avian reptiles 40 years on: advances and promising new directions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 96:331-356. [PMID: 33073470 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Recently, there has been a surge in cognition research using non-avian reptile systems. As a diverse group of animals, non-avian reptiles [turtles, the tuatara, crocodylians, and squamates (lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids)] are good model systems for answering questions related to cognitive ecology, from the role of the environment on the brain, behaviour and learning, to how social and life-history factors correlate with learning ability. Furthermore, given their variable social structure and degree of sociality, studies on reptiles have shown that group living is not a pre-condition for social learning. Past research has demonstrated that non-avian reptiles are capable of more than just instinctive reactions and basic cognition. Despite their ability to provide answers to fundamental questions in cognitive ecology, and a growing literature, there have been no recent systematic syntheses of research in this group. Here, we systematically, and comprehensively review studies on reptile learning. We identify 92 new studies investigating learning in reptiles not included in previous reviews on this topic - affording a unique opportunity to provide a more in-depth synthesis of existing work, its taxonomic distribution, the types of cognitive domains tested and methodologies that have been used. Our review therefore provides a major update on our current state of knowledge and ties the collective evidence together under nine umbrella research areas: (i) habituation of behaviour, (ii) animal training through conditioning, (iii) avoiding aversive stimuli, (iv) spatial learning and memory, (v) learning during foraging, (vi) quality and quantity discrimination, (vii) responding to change, (viii) solving novel problems, and (ix) social learning. Importantly, we identify knowledge gaps and propose themes which offer important future research opportunities including how cognitive ability might influence fitness and survival, testing cognition in ecologically relevant situations, comparing cognition in invasive and non-invasive populations of species, and social learning. To move the field forward, it will be immensely important to build upon the descriptive approach of testing whether a species can learn a task with experimental studies elucidating causal reasons for cognitive variation within and among species. With the appropriate methodology, this young but rapidly growing field of research should advance greatly in the coming years providing significant opportunities for addressing general questions in cognitive ecology and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Szabo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia.,Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, Bern, 3032, Switzerland
| | - Daniel W A Noble
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Martin J Whiting
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia
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D’Errico M, Kennedy C, Hale RE. Egg mass polymorphism in Ambystoma maculatum is not associated with larval performance or survival, or with cell density of the algal symbiont Oophila amblystomatis. Evol Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-020-10083-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Souchet J, Gangloff EJ, Micheli G, Bossu C, Trochet A, Bertrand R, Clobert J, Calvez O, Martinez-Silvestre A, Darnet E, LE Chevalier H, Guillaume O, Mossoll-Torres M, Barthe L, Pottier G, Philippe H, Aubret F. High-elevation hypoxia impacts perinatal physiology and performance in a potential montane colonizer. Integr Zool 2020; 15:544-557. [PMID: 32649806 PMCID: PMC7689776 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is generating range shifts in many organisms, notably along the elevational gradient in mountainous environments. However, moving up in elevation exposes organisms to lower oxygen availability, which may reduce the successful reproduction and development of oviparous organisms. To test this possibility in an upward‐colonizing species, we artificially incubated developing embryos of the viperine snake (Natrix maura) using a split‐clutch design, in conditions of extreme high elevation (hypoxia at 2877 m above sea level; 72% sea‐level equivalent O2 availability) or low elevation (control group; i.e. normoxia at 436 m above sea level). Hatching success did not differ between the two treatments. Embryos developing at extreme high elevation had higher heart rates and hatched earlier, resulting in hatchlings that were smaller in body size and slower swimmers compared to their siblings incubated at lower elevation. Furthermore, post‐hatching reciprocal transplant of juveniles showed that snakes which developed at extreme high elevation, when transferred back to low elevation, did not recover full performance compared to their siblings from the low elevation incubation treatment. These results suggest that incubation at extreme high elevation, including the effects of hypoxia, will not prevent oviparous ectotherms from producing viable young, but may pose significant physiological challenges on developing offspring in ovo. These early‐life performance limitations imposed by extreme high elevation could have negative consequences on adult phenotypes, including on fitness‐related traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérémie Souchet
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Eric J Gangloff
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France.,Department of Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, USA
| | - Gaëlle Micheli
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Coralie Bossu
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Audrey Trochet
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Romain Bertrand
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Jean Clobert
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Olivier Calvez
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | | | - Elodie Darnet
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Hugo LE Chevalier
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Olivier Guillaume
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
| | - Marc Mossoll-Torres
- Bomosa, Pl. Parc de la Mola, Les Escaldes, Andorra.,Pirenalia, Encamp, Andorra
| | | | | | - Hervé Philippe
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France.,Département de Biochimie, Centre Robert-Cedergren, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Fabien Aubret
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Moulis, France
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LI X, WU P, MA L, HUEBNER C, SUN B, LI S. Embryonic and post‐embryonic responses to high‐elevation hypoxia in a low‐elevation lizard. Integr Zool 2020; 15:338-348. [DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xinghan LI
- College of Life and Environmental ScienceWenzhou University Wenzhou China
| | - Pengfei WU
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Zoology Beijing China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Liang MA
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Zoology Beijing China
| | - Christopher HUEBNER
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of California Berkeley California USA
| | - Baojun SUN
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Zoology Beijing China
| | - Shuran LI
- College of Life and Environmental ScienceWenzhou University Wenzhou China
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Parker SL, Dimkovikj VH. Effects of regional hypoxia and incubation temperature on growth, differentiation, heart mass, and oxygen consumption in embryos of the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius). Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2019; 227:51-59. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2018.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Kouyoumdjian L, Gangloff EJ, Souchet J, Cordero GA, Dupoué A, Aubret F. Transplanting gravid lizards to high elevation alters maternal and embryonic oxygen physiology, but not reproductive success or hatchling phenotype. J Exp Biol 2019; 222:jeb.206839. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.206839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Increased global temperatures have opened previously inhospitable habitats, such as at higher elevations. However, the reduction of oxygen partial pressure with increase in elevation represents an important physiological constraint that may limit colonization of such habitats, even if the thermal niche is appropriate. To test the mechanisms underlying the response to ecologically-relevant levels of hypoxia, we performed a translocation experiment with the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), a widespread European lizard amenable to establishing populations outside its natural range. We investigated the impacts of hypoxia on the oxygen physiology and reproductive output of gravid common wall lizards and the subsequent development and morphology of their offspring. Lowland females transplanted to high elevations increased their haematocrit and haemoglobin concentration within days and maintained routine metabolism compared to lizards kept at native elevations. However, transplanted lizards suffered from increased reactive oxygen metabolite production near the oviposition date, suggesting a cost of reproduction at high elevation. Transplanted females and females native to different elevations did not differ in reproductive output (clutch size, egg mass, relative clutch mass, or embryonic stage at oviposition) or in post-oviposition body condition. Developing embryos reduced heart rates and prolonged incubation times at high elevations within the native range and at extreme high elevations beyond the current range, but this reduced oxygen availability did not affect metabolic rate, hatching success, or hatchling size. These results suggest that this opportunistic colonizer is capable of successfully responding to novel environmental constraints in these important life-history stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Kouyoumdjian
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS – UMR 5321, Moulis, France
| | - Eric J. Gangloff
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS – UMR 5321, Moulis, France
| | - Jérémie Souchet
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS – UMR 5321, Moulis, France
| | - Gerardo A. Cordero
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andréaz Dupoué
- CNRS UPMC, UMR 7618, iEES Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
| | - Fabien Aubret
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS – UMR 5321, Moulis, France
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, 6102 WA, Australia
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Cordero GA, Andersson BA, Souchet J, Micheli G, Noble DW, Gangloff EJ, Uller T, Aubret F. Physiological plasticity in lizard embryos exposed to high-altitude hypoxia. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART 2017; 327:423-432. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.2115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jeremie Souchet
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS à Moulis; Moulis France
| | - Gaëlle Micheli
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS à Moulis; Moulis France
| | - Daniel W.A. Noble
- Ecology & Evolution Research Centre; School of Biological; Earth and Environmental Sciences; The University of New South Wales; Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Eric J. Gangloff
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS à Moulis; Moulis France
- Department of Ecology; Evolution, and Organismal Biology; Iowa State University; Ames Iowa USA
| | - Tobias Uller
- Department of Biology; Lund University; Lund Sweden
| | - Fabien Aubret
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS à Moulis; Moulis France
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