Putting the energetic-savings hypothesis underground: fossoriality does not affect metabolic rates in amphibians

Giacometti, Danilo; Tattersall, Glenn J.

doi:10.1007/s10682-023-10253-5

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 100 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The cryptic nature of many fossorial ectotherms has limited research into their physiology and behaviour (Jared et al, 1999). This resulted not only in knowledge gaps about their basic biology, but also in an overreliance over untested assumptions about the role of fossoriality in shaping the physiology and behaviour of ectotherms (Giacometti and Tattersall, 2023). Our study highlights how seasonal acclimatisation affects behavioural thermoregulation in the fossorial A. maculatum through seasonal changes in the use of thermal resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Seasonal variation of behavioural thermoregulation in the Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

Giacometti,

Tattersall

2024

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mounting evidence suggests that temperature seasonality plays a pivotal role in shaping the thermal biology of ectotherms. However, we still have a limited understanding of how amphibians maintain thermal balance in the face of varying temperatures, especially in fossorial species. Due to thermal buffering underground, theory predicts relaxed selection pressure over thermoregulation in fossorial ectotherms. As a result, fossorial ectotherms typically show low thermoregulatory precision and low evidence of thermotactic behaviours when tested in laboratory thermal gradients. In this study, we evaluated how temperature selection (Tsel) and behavioural thermoregulation differed between seasons in the fossorial Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum). By comparing thermoregulatory parameters between the activity and overwintering seasons, we provide evidence that A. maculatum engages in active behavioural thermoregulation despite its fossorial habit. In both seasons, we found Tsel to be consistently offset higher than prevailing thermal conditions. Thermoregulation differed between seasons, with salamanders having higher Tsel and showing greater evidence of thermophilic behaviours in the active season compared to the overwintering season. Our study highlights that the combination of behavioural and thermal biology measurements is a necessary step to better understand the mechanisms that underlie body temperature control in amphibians. Ultimately, our study provides a broader understanding of thermoregulation in amphibians, particularly in the context of behavioural responses to seasonality in fossorial species.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Seasonal variation of behavioural thermoregulation in the Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

Giacometti,

Tattersall

2024

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

How seasonality influences the thermal biology of lizards with different thermoregulatory strategies: a meta‐analysis

Giacometti,

Palaoro,

Leal

et al. 2023

Biological Reviews

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ectotherms that maintain thermal balance in the face of varying climates should be able to colonise a wide range of habitats. In lizards, thermoregulation usually appears as a variety of behaviours that buffer external influences over physiology. Basking species rely on solar radiation to raise body temperatures and usually show high thermoregulatory precision. By contrast, species that do not bask are often constrained by climatic conditions in their habitats, thus having lower thermoregulatory precision. While much focus has been given to the effects of mean habitat temperatures, relatively less is known about how seasonality affects the thermal biology of lizards on a macroecological scale. Considering the current climate crisis, assessing how lizards cope with temporal variations in environmental temperature is essential to understand better how these organisms will fare under climate change. Activity body temperatures (Tb) represent the internal temperature of an animal measured in nature during its active period (i.e. realised thermal niche), and preferred body temperatures (Tpref) are those selected by an animal in a laboratory thermal gradient that lacks thermoregulatory costs (i.e. fundamental thermal niche). Both traits form the bulk of thermal ecology research and are often studied in the context of seasonality. In this study, we used a meta‐analysis to test how environmental temperature seasonality influences the seasonal variation in the Tb and Tpref of lizards that differ in thermoregulatory strategy (basking versus non‐basking). Based on 333 effect sizes from 137 species, we found that Tb varied over a greater magnitude than Tpref across seasons. Variations in Tb were not influenced by environmental temperature seasonality; however, body size and thermoregulatory strategy mediated Tb responses. Specifically, larger species were subjected to greater seasonal variations in Tb, and basking species endured greater seasonal variations in Tb compared to non‐basking species. On the other hand, the seasonal variation in Tpref increased with environmental temperature seasonality regardless of body size. Thermoregulatory strategy also influenced Tpref, suggesting that behaviour has an important role in mediating Tpref responses to seasonal variations in the thermal landscape. After controlling for phylogenetic effects, we showed that Tb and Tpref varied significantly across lizard families. Taken together, our results support the notion that the relationship between thermal biology responses and climatic parameters can be taxon and trait dependent. Our results also showcase the importance of considering ecological and behavioural aspects in macroecological studies. We further highlight current systematic, geographical, and knowledge gaps in thermal ecology research. Our work should benefit those who aim to understand more fully how seasonality shapes thermal biology in lizards, ultimately contributing to the goal of elucidating the evolution of temperature‐sensitive traits in ectotherms.

show abstract

Putting the energetic-savings hypothesis underground: fossoriality does not affect metabolic rates in amphibians

Cited by 2 publications

References 100 publications

Seasonal variation of behavioural thermoregulation in the Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

Seasonal variation of behavioural thermoregulation in the Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

How seasonality influences the thermal biology of lizards with different thermoregulatory strategies: a meta‐analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About