Reproductive Strategies: Food Availability as a Source of Proximal Variation in a Lizard

Ballinger, Royce Ε.

doi:10.2307/1939012

Cited by 272 publications

(186 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Although the experimental environment was designed to mimic the natural environment, the availability of water and food was likely higher in the common-garden environment. Previous research in lizards has shown that relatively low food availability reduces both clutch size and number (Ballinger, 1977). Furthermore, high population density in Uta reduces the clutch size of females through stress-induced hormonal pathways (Sinervo et al, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of night-time warming on temperate ectotherm reproduction: potential fitness benefits of climate change for side-blotched lizards

Clarke

Zani

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYTemperate ectotherms, especially those at higher latitudes, are expected to benefit from climate warming, but few data yet exist to verify this prediction. Furthermore, most previous studies on the effects of climate change utilized a model of uniform annual change, which assumes that temperature increases are symmetric on diurnal or seasonal time scales. In this study, we simulated observed trends in the asymmetric alteration of diurnal temperature range by increasing night-time temperatures experienced by female lizards during their ovarian cycle as well as by the resulting eggs during their incubation. We found that higher night-time temperatures during the ovarian cycle increased the probability of reproductive success and decreased the duration of the reproductive cycle, but did not affect embryo stage or size at oviposition, clutch size, egg mass or relative clutch mass. Furthermore, higher incubation temperatures increased hatchling size and decreased incubation period but had no effect on incubation success. Subsequent hatchlings were more likely to survive winter if they hatched earlier, though our sample size of hatchlings was relatively small. These findings indicate that higher night-time temperatures mainly affect rate processes and that certain aspects of life history are less directly temperature dependent. As our findings confirm that climate warming is likely to increase the rate of development as well as advance reproductive phenology, we predict that warmer nights during the breeding season will increase reproductive output as well as subsequent survival in many temperate ectotherms, both of which should have positive fitness effects. Supplementary material available online at

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of night-time warming on temperate ectotherm reproduction: potential fitness benefits of climate change for side-blotched lizards

Clarke

Zani

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Reproductive strategy is the set of adaptations to promote the most efficient way for a population to survive under particular conditions of a certain environment (Tinkle et al, 1969;Ballinger, 1977).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive Strategies of Brazilian Lizards of the Genus Tropidurus Rodrigues, 1987 (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in the Temporal and Spatial

2011

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Estrategias Reproductivas de las Lagartijas Brasileñas del Género SUMMARY:Reproductive strategy is the set of adaptations that promote the most efficient way that the species will survive under the particular conditions of a determined environment. Understanding these adaptations is important and can help pinpoint populations indicator of environmental changes. Spermatogenesis is a measurable biological process of these adaptations in spatial and temporal scales. We analyzed the morphology of the testes and oviducts of the lizard species that comprise the genus Tropidurus, taking into account the geographical distribution and sympatric relations. For the analysis and the testes were removed from the middle part of the oviducts from Tropidurus etheridge, T. oreadicus, T. itambere, T. spinulosus and T. Guarani species, collected in different places in the Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The reproductive period is synchronous for males and females and occurs in September, October and November. Reproductive males were characterized. In the testes are seminiferous tubules with germ cells at different stages of spermatogenesis, with a high epithelium, at present light, free spermatozoa in the lumen and reduction of interstitial tissue. For females, the reproduction peak occurs when the oviduct epithelium is high with secretions and basal nucleus. These months are characterized in the sampled areas over a period of heavy rain and high temperatures. The decline of reproductive period was observed in both sexes, between April and August. Low reproduction in males is characterized by ample light, absence of sperm, only germ cells in the early stages of spermatogenesis are observed (a few spermatogonia and spermatocytes) and interstitial tissue wide. In females, the period of reproductive decline is marked by the absence of unicellular glands in the oviduct epithelium, with higher affinity with the dye. This period corresponds to low rainfall periods and lower temperatures. We propose an analysis of zoological samples; this is a proposal to facilitate the work of many researchers through access to the species, especially rare species.

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“…In arid ecosystems highly variable and unpredictable precipitation often regulates biological processes (Noy-Meir, 1973). Support for this axiom can be found 3 across a broad range of taxa and regions (Mayhew 1965(Mayhew , 1966Pianka 1970;Ballinger 1977;Whitford and Creusere 1977;Seely and Louw 1980;Dunham 1981;Abts 1987;Robinson 1990;Brown and Ernest 2002;Germano and Williams 2005). Population dynamics of desert species are thus often characterized as being regulated from the bottom-up, by resource availability mediated by annual rainfall (Brown and Ernest 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Boundary processes between a desert sand dune community and an encroaching suburban landscape

Barrows

Allen

Rotenberry

2006

Biological Conservation

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In contrast to the body of work in more mesic habitats, few studies have examined boundary processes between natural and anthropogenic desert landscapes. Our research examined processes occurring at boundaries between a desert sand dune community and an encroaching suburban habitat. We measured responses to an anthropogenic boundary by species from multiple trophic levels, and incorporated measures of habitat suitability, temporal variation, and spatial scales. At an edge versus core habitat scale the only aeolian sand species that demonstrated an unambiguous negative response to the anthropogenic habitat edges was the flat-tailed horned lizard (Phrynosoma mcallii). Conversely loggerhead shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus)demonstrated a positive response to that edge. At a finer scale, species that exhibited a response to a habitat edge within the first 250 m included the horned lizards along with desert kangaroo rats (Dipodomys deserti). The latter species' response was confined to 25 m from the edge. For the flat-tailed horned lizard, edge effects were measured up to 150 m from the habitat boundary. Three potential causal hypotheses were explored for explaining the edge effect on horned lizards: 1) potential invasions of exotic ant species Barrows, C. W., et al. 2reducing potential prey for the lizards; 2) road avoidance and road associated mortalities; and, 3) predation from a suite of avian predators whose occurrence and abundance may be augmented by resources available in the suburban habitat. We rejected exotic ant hypothesis due to the absence of exotic ants within the boundary region, and because native ant species (prey for horned lizards) did not show an edge effect. Our data supported the predation hypothesis and road mortality hypotheses. Mechanisms for regulating population dynamics of desert species are often "bottom-up," stochastic processes driven by precipitation. The juxtaposition of an anthropogenic edge appears to have created a shift to a "top-down," predator mediated dynamic for these lizards.

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Reproductive Strategies: Food Availability as a Source of Proximal Variation in a Lizard

Cited by 272 publications

References 34 publications

Effects of night-time warming on temperate ectotherm reproduction: potential fitness benefits of climate change for side-blotched lizards

Effects of night-time warming on temperate ectotherm reproduction: potential fitness benefits of climate change for side-blotched lizards

Reproductive Strategies of Brazilian Lizards of the Genus Tropidurus Rodrigues, 1987 (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in the Temporal and Spatial

Boundary processes between a desert sand dune community and an encroaching suburban landscape

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