Physiology of Original and Regenerated Lizard Tails

Meyer, Victoria; Preest, Marion R.; Lochetto, Stephen M.

doi:10.1655/0018-0831(2002)058[0075:pooarl]2.0.co;2

Cited by 36 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The divergence in these values is probably the result of among-species differences in the proportion of the tail composed of contractile versus noncontractile tissue. Indeed, once lactate concentrations were expressed as milligrams lactate per milligrams protein, we obtain very similar results as those reported for H. mabouia (Meyer et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Although average lactate accumulations in exhausted tails reported here were comparable to those in Anolis carolinensis (1.64 mg/g tissue), they were lower than those in S. lateralis (2.71 mg/g tissue; Dial and Fitzpatrick 1983) or H. mabouia (2.25 mg/g tissue; Meyer et al 2002). The divergence in these values is probably the result of among-species differences in the proportion of the tail composed of contractile versus noncontractile tissue.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

“…We found average tail thrashing duration to be similar to the times required for intact lizard bodies to reach exhaustion (e.g., 4.9 min for Podarcis erhardii in Hailey et al 1987; see also Bennet and Licht 1972) but markedly longer than the duration of thrashing for autotomized tails reported from many other species of lizards. Specifically, average durations of tail movement for all taxa analyzed here are substantially longer than analogous times in Eumeces fasciatus (0.8 min), Eumeces laticeps (0.95 min), and Holbrookia garnotii (1.7 min; Vitt and Cooper 1986;Lochetto 1998) and closer but still exceeding those of Hemidactylus mabouia (5.2 min; Meyer et al 2002) and Scincella lateralis (approximately 5 min; Dial and Fitzpatrick 1983). Moreover, the six lacertid species examined here appear to have average times of tail movement considerably longer than analogous times given in the only other study on lacertid lizard autotomy published to date (Perez-Mellado et al 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Glycogen is the primary substrate for muscle anaerobiosis (Gleeson 1982), and tail movement is mainly fuelled by glycogen metabolism (Bennett and Licht 1972;Gleeson 1982;Meyer et al 2002). During anaerobic glycolysis occurring in tail muscles, glycogen converts into lactate and provides the energy required for muscle activity (Shah and Hiradhar 1974).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, according to Dial and Fitzpatrick (1983), for those species that use tail autotomy as a principal escape tactic, tail lactate concentrations after thrashing ends rise to significantly higher levels than in intact tails even after an exhaustive escape trial. Unfortunately, with the exception of that of Meyer et al (2002), no recent work has been carried out on lactate production in autotomized tails, whereas many researchers have worked on anaerobic metabolism in the whole body (e.g., Bennett and Licht 1972;Hailey et al 1987;Gleeson and Dalessio 1989;Gleeson 1996). Glycogen is the main substrate for muscle anaerobiosis and supplies the greatest quantity of ATP used by the muscles in postautotomy movement (Gleeson 1982(Gleeson , 1996.…”

Section: Physiological and Biochemical Zoologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative Postautotomy Tail Activity in Six Mediterranean Lacertid Lizard Species

Pafilis¹,

Valakos²,

Foufopoulos³

2005

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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Tail autotomy, the self-induced tail separation from the body, is a common and effective antipredator mechanism in lizards. In this study, we examine the muscle energetics of tail shedding in six lacertid lizard species (Podarcis erhardii, Podarcis peloponnesiaca, Podarcis muralis, Podarcis gaigeae, Podarcis milensis, and Lacerta graeca) from the northeast Mediterranean region. Very long periods of postautotomy tail movement were demonstrated for all species ( min), and differences range p 6-8 among species were not statistically significant. Postautotomy tail movement, powered by anaerobic muscle activity, resulted in a strong increase in lactate concentrations and a concomitant depletion of muscle glycogen of exhausted tails relative to resting tails. No significant differences were found in either lactate or glycogen concentrations among the species examined. Duration of movement was negatively correlated with final lactate concentrations. The lack of differentiation in postautotomy energetic physiology in this group of species that have evolved under very different predation environments indicates that postautotomy muscle metabolism involves an overall conservative suite of characters.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Physiological and Biochemical Zoologymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Comparative Postautotomy Tail Activity in Six Mediterranean Lacertid Lizard Species

Pafilis¹,

Valakos²,

Foufopoulos³

2005

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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Caudal autotomy and regeneration in lizards

2006

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Caudal autotomy, or the voluntary self-amputation of the tail, is an anti-predation strategy in lizards that depends on a complex array of environmental, individual, and species-specific characteristics. These factors affect both when and how often caudal autotomy is employed, as well as its overall rate of success. The potential costs of autotomy must be weighed against the benefits of this strategy. Many species have evolved specialized behavioral and physiological adaptations to minimize or compensate for any negative consequences. One of the most important steps following a successful autotomous escape involves regeneration of the lost limb. In some species, regeneration occurs rapidly; such swift regeneration illustrates the importance of an intact, functional tail in everyday experience. In lizards and other vertebrates, regeneration is a highly ordered process utilizing initial developmental programs as well as regeneration-specific mechanisms to produce the correct types and pattern of cells required to sufficiently restore the structure and function of the sacrificed tail. In this review, we discuss the behavioral and physiological features of self-amputation, with particular reference to the costs and benefits of autotomy and the basic mechanisms of regeneration. In the process, we identify how these behaviors could be used to explore the neural regulation of complex behavioral responses within a functional context.

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Postautotomy tail activity in the Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi

Pafilis

Pérez-Mellado

Valakos³

2007

Naturwissenschaften

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Caudal autotomy is an effective antipredator strategy widespread among lizards. The shed tail thrashes vigorously for long periods to distract the predator and facilitate the lizard's escape. This movement is maintained by energy supplied by the anaerobic conversion of glycogen into lactate. It has been suggested that lactate accumulation serves as an index for the vigor of tail thrashing. We made three predictions: (1) tail loss frequency should be higher under heavier predation regime, (2) the duration of postautotomy tail movement should be extended in populations under heavy predation pressure as an adaptation to the higher risk and the increased need for defense, and (3) as result, lactate in these tail tissues should be concentrated at higher levels. To eliminate the impact of phylogeny and environmental factors on the interpretation of our result, we focused exclusively on one species, the Balearic lizard (Podarcis lilfordi). We studied three populations under different predation pressure but sharing the same climatic conditions. We found no differences among the studied populations either in postautotomy duration of tail movement or in levels of final lactate accumulation while autotomy frequency was higher where predation pressure was more intense. Tail loss effectiveness is directly influenced by the level of predation, while secondary features of the trait appear to remain independent from the impact of environment.

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Physiology of Original and Regenerated Lizard Tails

Cited by 36 publications

References 44 publications

Comparative Postautotomy Tail Activity in Six Mediterranean Lacertid Lizard Species

Comparative Postautotomy Tail Activity in Six Mediterranean Lacertid Lizard Species

Caudal autotomy and regeneration in lizards

Postautotomy tail activity in the Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi

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