ABSTRACT. Low thermal quality environments, such extreme latitudes or high elevation regions, are highly expensive for reptiles in terms of thermoregulation. Thus, physiological adaptations or behavioral adjustments to live in these habitats have evolved in some species. Anolis heterodermus (Duméril, 1851) is an anole lizard that lives at high elevations in the Andes region. In this paper, we attempted to elucidate the thermoregulation strategy of a population of this species from the eastern cordillera of Colombia during wet and dry seasons. We measured body temperatures (T b ), operative temperatures (T e ) and preferred temperatures (T pref ). Based on these data, we obtained accuracy (d̄b), environmental thermal quality (d̄e) and effi ciency of thermoregulation (E) indexes. There were no signifi cant diff erences of T b or d̄b between seasons, sexes, ages, and for T pref between sexes or ages, but we found diff erences in T e and d̄e between seasons. The indexes suggested high thermoregulatory accuracy, low thermal environment quality and indicated that A. heterodermus was an active thermoregulator in both seasons. Broad ranges of T b and the species association with microhabitats with high solar radiation suggest eurythermy and heliothermy. Anolis heterodermus lives in a low thermal quality habitat, using exposed perches, which seems the most effi cient thermal microhabitats. We concluded that A. heterodermus performed behavioral adjustment for compensating seasonal variation in the environmental thermal costs.KEYWORDS. Thermal quality, thermoregulatory accuracy, seasonal variation, heliothermy.RESUMEN. Termorregulación en el lagarto andino Anolis heterodermus (Squamata: Dactyloidae) a una alta elevación en la Cordillera Oriental de Colombia. Ambientes con baja calidad térmica, tales como las latitudes extremas o regiones en altas elevaciones, son altamente costosos para los reptiles en términos de termorregulación, por lo cual algunas especies han adquirido adaptaciones fi siológicas o ajustes conductuales para habitar estos ambientes. Anolis heterodermus (Duméril, 1851) es un lagarto que habita a altas elevaciones en la región andina. En el presente trabajo se evaluó la termorregulación de una población de esta especie en la cordillera oriental de Colombia durante las épocas húmeda y seca. Se midieron temperaturas corporales (T b ), operativas (T e ) y de preferencia (T pref ). Con base en estas variables, se obtuvieron los índices de calidad térmica ambiental (d̄e), exactitud (d̄b) y efi ciencia (E) de la termorregulación. No hubo diferencias signifi cativas entre la T b o d̄b entre épocas, sexos o edades y tampoco de la T pref entre sexos o edades, pero encontramos diferencias de T e y d̄e entre épocas. Los índices sugieren alta exactitud termorreguladora y baja calidad térmica del ambiente, por lo tanto indican que A. heterodermus es un termorregulador activo para ambas épocas. El amplio intervalo de T b y la asociación de la especie a microhábitats con alta radiación solar sugieren euritérmia y heliot...
We present the results of three years of sampling of amphibians and reptiles in different habitats in the municipality of San José del Guaviare, Guaviare, Colombia. We conducted four field excursions between 2012 and 2014 and found a total of 40 amphibian and 63 reptile species, representing a sampling coverage of 98 % for amphibians and 93 % for reptiles. Collection records and literature search increased our species list by 7 amphibians and 4 reptiles, for a total of 47 amphibians and 67 reptile species recorded for the region. Also, for the first time in Colombia, we documented the presence of the lizard Gymnophthalmus leucomystax, and confirmed the expansion of the distribution of the frog Boana maculateralis, and the snakes Atractus collaris, Atractus fuliginosus and Epictia amazonica in the department of Guaviare. Since most of the species found are from the central and western region of San José del Guaviare, sampling towards the eastern region, which has higher forest cover and less perturbed habitats, will undoubtedly increase the number of recorded species.
The high mountain environment is a tough habitat that imposes many challenges to reptiles. As temperature decreases with altitude and has a dramatic variation throughout the day in the tropical mountains, ectotherms must cope with these harsh conditions. We studied the use of microhabitat and activity patterns of Stenocercus trachycephalus in the eastern Andes mountain range of Colombia. Three localities were sampled across the wide altitudinal distribution of this lizard species, in a range from 2,670 to 3,950 m a.s.l. The initial hypothesis was that these natural history traits would change with altitude but instead, we found that they remained roughly consistent, showing the great plasticity of this species. The results support that this lizard is a microhabitat-generalist using principally herb across the gradient, rarely shifting to specific plants or microhabitats such as rocks depending on availability. Regarding the activity pattern, this species was active throughout the day from 8:00 to 16:00 with a similar pattern along the gradient. Nevertheless, some differences were detected across localities. The activity pattern shifted from bimodal in the lower locality to unimodal in the higher ones. As expected, a correlation between temperature and activity patterns was found in one of the study sites. However, this was not the case for the lower and mid-elevation localities, where there was no correlation between these variables. The mid-elevation study site was the most interesting locality as the use of microhabitat relied virtually just on the herb stratum and the activity was constrained to the morning hours. These findings may be the result of the synergic effects of other ecological variables (weather variability, human impact, predation, population structure, or reproductive season). Our study gives the basis for a better understanding of how behavior (microhabitat choice and hours of activity) of ectotherms can help to counter thermal constraints in the neotropics when facing an altitudinal gradient. Further studies should focus on the thermal biology of this species, considering the influence of anthropic impact on these lizards’ populations.
This is the species account about the Coloma’s Lightbulb-Lizard (Riama colomaromani), a chapter in the Reptiles of Ecuador book. This account summarizes novel as well as historical information (recognition, natural history, distribution, conservation, etymology, and relevant literature) about the species and provides maps and images to facilitate identification of this reptile in the field.
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