Species extinction rates are now three orders of magnitude higher than levels recorded for pre-human history (Murray et al., 2014). A central goal of conservation biology is to identify ecological traits that correlate with species extinction risk (Bland, 2017). This area of conservation biology has seen a flurry of growth in the last decade, with global studies conducted on almost all terrestrial vertebrates,

The critical thermal limits of organisms and the thermal sensitivity of their performance tend to vary predictably across latitudinal gradients. There has been comparatively less investigation into variation in thermal biology with elevation, despite similar gradients in environmental temperatures. To redress this, we examined critical thermal limits (CTmin and CTmax), thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance, and shelter site attributes, in three lizard species that replace one another along a contiguous elevation gradient in south-eastern Australia. The species examined consisted of a highland specialist, Liopholis guthega, mid-elevation species, Liopholis montana, and lowland species, Liopholis whitii. We found similar habitat attributes between the species, but L. guthega predominantly occurred in open habitat, which might reflect a strategy for maximizing exposure to insolation. We found intraspecific variation in lizard thermal traits, most notably in cold tolerance of L. guthega and in both heat and cold tolerance of L. whitii, suggesting population-specific variables acting on thermal physiology rather than a species distribution maintained by distinct thermal tolerances. This study represents one of the few examinations of thermal trait variability within and between species with elevation in a temperate system and provides evidence for thermal physiology driven by adaptation and/or physiological plasticity to local conditions.

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The rapid changes in altitude, and associated habitat, of mountain ecosystems make them ideal natural laboratories for testing the effect of environmental heterogeneity on species assemblage. Our understanding of the sensitivity of Australian reptiles to elevational clines is limited. We examined lizard distribution across three elevation zones (montane, subalpine and alpine), spanning from 900 to 1840 m above sea level, in the Australian alps. We aimed to examine how elevation influences species diversity and abundance, and ectoparasite load, and whether species alter their habitat use amongst different elevational zones. Active searches were conducted across the elevation zones to identify lizard community structure (at least 16 species) across elevational zones, along with skink habitat preferences and the ectoparasite load. Skink diversity and abundance were negatively correlated with increased elevation. The alpine zone had significantly lower diversity and abundance of skinks. Habitat use differed amongst both elevations and species. Ectoparasite prevalence was also significantly diminished in the alpine zone. Ectoparasites only infected a subset of the skink community, with ectoparasite load increasing as the active season progressed. This study provides evidence of the complex interplay between elevation and species diversity, as well as the differences in ectoparasite pressure along elevational gradients in the Australian alps.