Publication Details

Category Text Publication
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DOI 10.1111/geb.13808
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) A global analysis of field body temperatures of active squamates in relation to climate and behaviour
Author Dubiner, S.; Aguilar, R.; Anderson, R.O.; Arenas Moreno, D.M.; Avila, L.J.; Boada-Viteri, E.; Castillo, M.; Chapple, D.G.; Chukwuka, C.O.; Cree, A.; Cruz, F.B.; Colli, G.R.; Das, I.; Delaugerre, M.-J.; Du, W.-G.; Dyugmedzhiev, A.; Doan, T.M.; Escudero, P.; Farquhar, J.; Gainsbury, A.M.; Gray, B.S.; Grimm-Seyfarth, A.; Hare, K.M.; Henle, K.; Ibargüengoytía, N.; Itescu, Y.; Jamison, S.; Jimenez-Robles, O.; Labra, A.; Laspiur, A.; Liang, T.; Ludgate, J.L.; Luiselli, L.; Martín, J.; Matthews, G.; Medina, M.; Méndez-de-la-Cruz, F.R.; Miles, D.B.; Mills, N.E.; Miranda-Calle, A.B.; Monks, J.M.; Morando, M.; Moreno Azocar, D.L.; Murali, G.; Pafilis, P.; Pérez-Cembranos, A.; Pérez-Mellado, V.; Peters, R.; Pizzatto, L.; Pincheira-Donoso, D.; Plummer, M.V.; Schwarz, R.; Shermeister, B.; Shine, R.; Theisinger, O.; Theisinger, W.; Tolley, K.A.; Torres-Carvajal, O.; Valdecantos, S.; Van Damme, R.; Vitt, L.J.; Wapstra, E.; While, G.M.; Levin, E.; Meiri, S.
Source Titel Global Ecology and Biogeography
Year 2024
Department NSF
Volume 33
Issue 4
Page From e13808
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Data and Software links https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5dv41nscz
Supplements https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Fgeb.13808&file=geb13808-sup-0001-Appendix1.txt
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Keywords air temperature; body temperature distribution; climate; heliotherm; lizard; nocturnal; reptile; snake; substrate temperature; thermal ecology
Abstract Aim
Squamate fitness is affected by body temperature, which in turn is influenced by environmental temperatures and, in many species, by exposure to solar radiation. The biophysical drivers of body temperature have been widely studied, but we lack an integrative synthesis of actual body temperatures experienced in the field, and their relationships to environmental temperatures, across phylogeny, behaviour and climate.
Location
Global (25 countries on six continents).
Taxa
Squamates (210 species, representing 25 families).
Methods
We measured the body temperatures of 20,231 individuals of squamates in the field while they were active. We examined how body temperatures vary with substrate and air temperatures across taxa, climates and behaviours (basking and diel activity).
Results
Heliothermic lizards had the highest body temperatures. Their body temperatures were the most weakly correlated with substrate and air temperatures. Body temperatures of non-heliothermic diurnal lizards were similar to heliotherms in relation to air temperature, but similar to nocturnal species in relation to substrate temperatures. The correlation of body temperature with air and substrate temperatures was stronger in diurnal snakes and non-heliothermic lizards than in heliotherms. Body-substrate and body-air temperature correlations varied with mean annual temperatures in all diurnal squamates, especially in heliotherms. Thermal relations vary with behaviour (heliothermy, nocturnality) in cold climates but converge towards the same relation in warm climates. Non-heliotherms and nocturnal species body temperatures are better explained by substrate temperature than by air temperature. Body temperature distributions become left-skewed in warmer-bodied species, especially in colder climates.
Main conclusions
Squamate body temperatures, their frequency distributions and their relation to environmental temperature, are globally influenced by behavioural and climatic factors. For all temperatures and climates, heliothermic species' body temperatures are consistently higher and more stable than in other species, but in regions with warmer climate these differences become less pronounced. A comparable variation was found in non-heliotherms, but in not nocturnal species whose body temperatures were similar to air and substrate irrespective of the macroclimatic context.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=28673
Dubiner, S., Aguilar, R., Anderson, R.O., Arenas Moreno, D.M., Avila, L.J., Boada-Viteri, E., Castillo, M., Chapple, D.G., Chukwuka, C.O., Cree, A., Cruz, F.B., Colli, G.R., Das, I., Delaugerre, M.-J., Du, W.-G., Dyugmedzhiev, A., Doan, T.M., Escudero, P., Farquhar, J., Gainsbury, A.M., Gray, B.S., Grimm-Seyfarth, A., Hare, K.M., Henle, K., Ibargüengoytía, N., Itescu, Y., Jamison, S., Jimenez-Robles, O., Labra, A., Laspiur, A., Liang, T., Ludgate, J.L., Luiselli, L., Martín, J., Matthews, G., Medina, M., Méndez-de-la-Cruz, F.R., Miles, D.B., Mills, N.E., Miranda-Calle, A.B., Monks, J.M., Morando, M., Moreno Azocar, D.L., Murali, G., Pafilis, P., Pérez-Cembranos, A., Pérez-Mellado, V., Peters, R., Pizzatto, L., Pincheira-Donoso, D., Plummer, M.V., Schwarz, R., Shermeister, B., Shine, R., Theisinger, O., Theisinger, W., Tolley, K.A., Torres-Carvajal, O., Valdecantos, S., Van Damme, R., Vitt, L.J., Wapstra, E., While, G.M., Levin, E., Meiri, S. (2024):
A global analysis of field body temperatures of active squamates in relation to climate and behaviour
Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr. 33 (4), e13808 10.1111/geb.13808