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3,538 results for “Lizard”
Data from: Water restriction causes an intergenerational trade-off and delayed mother-offspring conflict in a viviparous lizard
1. Parenting is costly and because the relationship between the mother and embryos is not mutualistic, mother-offspring conflicts may exist whenever resource are scarce. However, intergenerational trade-offs and conflicts resulting from limited access to water, a vital and depreciable resource, remain largely overlooked. 2. In this study, we examined the physiological, reproductive and life history responses to water restriction in the European Common Lizard (Zootoca vivipara). We hypothesised that, under water-limited conditions, pregnant females experience both short-term and long-term physiological impacts (dehydration and stress) underlying an allocation trade-off for water between mothers and offspring. 3. Water restriction led to a decrease in body mass, and an increase in plasma osmolality (dehydration) and corticosterone concentration in both males and females. The extent of the dehydration was positively correlated with fecundity in females. This suggests a trade-off between maternal water balance and allocation of water to developing embryos during reproduction. 4. Water restriction had no immediate effect on reproductive output or offspring morphology at birth. Yet, water restriction in pregnant females enhanced their reproductive effort the following year but reduced the early life growth and annual survival of their second-year offspring. 5. These delayed fitness responses to water restriction in offspring and mothers suggest that water can trigger intergenerational conflicts as demonstrated for energy. Although the mediation of this conflict remains to be clarified, we hypothesized that it represents a selective force that influences reproductive strategies.
Data from: Resource distribution mediates social and mating behavior in a family living lizard
The distribution of resources should influence mate availability and the costs and benefits of pursuing different mating strategies. Where resources are dispersed, males may be constrained in the extent to which they can monopolize more than 1 partner, resulting in social and genetic monogamy. There is abundant correlational evidence that resource distribution influences social and mating systems, but experiments that demonstrate a causal link between these variables are relatively rare. Here, we used a replicated experiment involving 160 animals to examine how the distribution of a key resource, crevice sites used as nesting habitat, shapes social and mating behavior of a family living lizard, Liopholis whitii. The distribution of crevice sites had significant effects on several important aspects of the social and mating system. When habitat was aggregated, adults had larger home ranges and overlapped with more individuals of the opposite sex, resulting in increased opportunity for social polygyny. Aggressive female territoriality appears to impose upper limits on opportunities for polygyny by restricting female–female home range overlap. Despite this, males in aggregated habitats still formed polygynous social groups more often than males in dispersed habitat. Aggregated habitat also increased the opportunity for sexual selection, resulting in greater variance in male reproductive success and a steeper Bateman gradient compared with males occupying dispersed habitat. These effects were independent of the increase in social polygyny. Overall, our study is consistent with the hypothesis that habitat structure is fundamentally important to the evolution of social and mating systems.
Data from: Selection and constraints on offspring size-number trade-offs in sand lizards (Lacerta agilis)
The trade-off between offspring size and number is a central component of life-history theory, postulating that larger investment into offspring size inevitably decreases offspring number. This trade-off is generally discussed in terms of genetic, physiological or morphological constraints; however, as among-individual differences can mask individual trade-offs, the underlying mechanisms may be difficult to reveal. In this study, we use multivariate analyses to investigate whether there is a trade-off between offspring size and number in a population of sand lizards by separating among- and within-individual patterns using a 15-year data set collected in the wild. We also explore the ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences of this trade-off by investigating how a female's resource (condition)- vs. age-related size (snout-vent length) influences her investment into offspring size vs. number (OSN), whether these traits are heritable and under selection and whether the OSN trade-off has a genetic component. We found a negative correlation between offspring size and number within individual females and physical constraints (size of body cavity) appear to limit the number of eggs that a female can produce. This suggests that the OSN trade-off occurs due to resource constraints as a female continues to grow throughout life and, thus, produces larger clutches. In contrast to the assumptions of classic OSN theory, we did not detect selection on offspring size; however, there was directional selection for larger clutch sizes. The repeatabilities of both offspring size and number were low and we did not detect any additive genetic variance in either trait. This could be due to strong selection (past or current) on these life-history traits, or to insufficient statistical power to detect significant additive genetic effects. Overall, the findings of this study are an important illustration of how analyses of within-individual patterns can reveal trade-offs and their underlying causes, with potential evolutionary and ecological consequences that are otherwise hidden by among-individual variation.
Data from: Comparison of Natural and Nonnative Two-Species Communities of Anolis Lizards
Human-mediated colonizations present an informative model system for understanding assembly of organismal communities. However, it is unclear whether communities including naturalized species are accurate analogs of natural communities or unique combinations not present in nature. I compared morphology and phylogenetic structure of natural and naturalized two-species communities of Anolis lizards. Natural communities are phylogenetically clustered, whereas naturalized communities show no significant phylogenetic structure. This result likely reflects differences in colonization pools for these communities—that is, invasion from anywhere for naturalized communities but from proximal and thus phylogenetically close lineages in natural communities. Both natural and naturalized communities each include pairs of species that are significantly similar to each other in morphology, and both sets of communities are composed of species that possess traits of good colonizers. These similarities suggest that the formation of natural and naturalized communities may be at least partially governed by similar processes. Human-mediated invasions may be credibly viewed as modern incarnations of natural colonizations in this case.
Vertical transmission of a nematode from female lizards to the brains of their offspring
Parasites have evolved a diversity of life styles that exploit the biology of their hosts. Some nematodes that parasitize mammals pass via the placenta or milk from one host to another. Similar cases of vertical transmission have never been reported in avian and non-avian reptiles, suggesting that egg laying may constrain themeans of parasite transmission. However, here we report the first incidence of transovarial transmission of a previously undescribed nematode in an egg-laying amniote, the common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis . Nematodes enter the developing brain from the female ovary early in embryonic development. Infected lizard embryos develop normally and hatch with nematodes residing in their braincase. We present a morphological and molecular phylogenetic characterization of the nematode and suggest that particular features of lizard biology that are absent from birds and turtles facilitated the evolutionary origin of this novel life history.
Data from: Lizards paid a greater opportunity cost to thermoregulate in a less heterogeneous environment
The theory of thermoregulation has developed slowly, hampering efforts to predict how individuals can buffer climate change through behaviour. Mixed results of field and laboratory experiments underscore the need to test hypotheses about thermoregulation explicitly, while measuring costs and benefits in different thermal landscapes. We simulated body temperature and energy expenditure of a virtual lizard that either thermoregulates optimally or thermoconforms in a landscape of either low or high quality (one or four basking sites, respectively). We then compare the predicted values in each landscape with the observed values for real lizards in experimental arenas. Lizards thermoregulated more accurately in the high-quality landscape than they did on the low-quality landscape, albeit only slightly so, but spent similar amounts of energy in these landscapes. Basking, rather than shuttling between heat sources, accounted for the majority of the energy consumed in both landscapes. These results did not support the predictions of our model. In the low-quality landscape, real lizards thermoregulated intensely despite the potential to save energy by thermoconforming. In the high-quality landscape, lizards moved more than expected, suggesting that lizards explored their surroundings despite being able to thermoregulate without doing so. Our results suggest that non-energetic benefits drive thermoregulatory behaviour in costly environments, despite the missed opportunities arising from thermoregulation. We propose that energetic costs associated with thermoregulatory movement will become substantial in homogeneous environments such as flat plains and dense forests. The theory of thermoregulation should incorporate these aspects if biologists wish to predict responses of ectotherms to changing climates and habitats.
Data from: Tracing the origins of Iguanid lizards and Boine snakes of the Pacific
In 1947, when Thor Heyerdahl's Kon‐Tiki hit ground in the Tuamotu archipelago, 102 days and 4,000 km from its point of origin in South America, he inadvertently provided support for one of the most remarkable hypotheses of vertebrate dispersal. Iguanid lizards and boine snakes are ancient Gondwanan lineages whose distribution has been demonstrated to have been influenced by continental drift. Their enigmatic presence on the islands of the Pacific, however, has drawn fantastical conclusions of more than 8,000‐km rafting from the Americas. We reexamine the hypothesis of dispersal in light of new molecular data and divergence time estimates. Our results suggest an early Paleogene (50–60 million years) divergence of these groups and the plausibility of an Asiatic or Australian (over land) source. Because the subfossil record indicates that iguanas (but not snakes) were a primary food source of island inhabitants, the absence of these species from islands with a longer history of human presence is unsurprising. Together these findings are taken as evidence of the influence humans have had on these taxa and are put forth as an example of anthropogenic obfuscation of biogeographic history. We suggest that this history is one of terrestrial connections permitting the colonization of the islands of the Pacific.
Data from: Insular biogeographic origins and high phylogenetic distinctiveness for a recently depleted lizard fauna from Christmas Island, Australia
Striking faunal turnover across Asia and Australasia, most famously along the eastern edge of the Sunda Shelf or 'Wallace's Line', has been a focus of biogeographic research for over 150 years. Here we investigate the origins of a highly threatened endemic lizard fauna (4 species) on Christmas Island. Despite occurring less 350 km south of the Sunda Shelf, this fauna mostly comprises species from clades centred on the more distant regions of Wallacea, the Pacific and Australia (> 1000 km east). The three most divergent lineages show Miocene (~23–5mya) divergences from sampled relatives; and have recently become extinct or extinct in the wild, likely due to the recent introduction of a south-east Asian snake (Lycodon capucinus). Insular distributions, deep phylogenetic divergence and recent decline, suggest that rather than dispersal ability or recent origins, environmental and biotic barriers have impeded these lineages from diversifying on the continental Sunda Shelf, and thereby, reinforced faunal differentiation across Wallace's Line. Our new phylogenetically informed perspective further highlights the rapid loss of ancient lineages that has occurred on Christmas Island, and underlines how the evolutionary divergence and vulnerability of many island-associated lineages may continue to be underestimated.
Data from: A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes
Background: The extant squamates (>9400 known species of lizards and snakes) are one of the most diverse and conspicuous radiations of terrestrial vertebrates, but no studies have attempted to reconstruct a phylogeny for the group with large-scale taxon sampling. Such an estimate is invaluable for comparative evolutionary studies, and to clarify their taxonomy. Here, we present the first large-scale phylogenetic estimate for Squamata. Results: The estimated phylogeny contains 4161 species representing all currently recognized families and subfamilies. The analysis is based on up to 12896 base pairs of sequence data per species (average = 2497 bp) from 12 genes, including seven nuclear loci (BDNF, c-mos, NT3, PDC, R35, RAG-1, and RAG-2), and five mitochondrial genes (12S, 16S, cytochrome b, ND2, and ND4). The tree provides important confirmation for recent estimates of higher-level squamate phylogeny based on molecular data (but with more limited taxon sampling), estimates that are very different from previous morphology-based hypotheses. The tree also includes many relationships that differ from previous molecular estimates and many that differ from traditional taxonomy. Conclusions: We present a new large-scale phylogeny of squamate reptiles that should be a valuable resource for future comparative studies. We also present a revised classification of squamates at the family and subfamily level to bring the taxonomy more in line with the new phylogenetic hypothesis. This classification includes new, resurrected, and modified subfamilies within gymnophthalmid and scincid lizards and boid, colubrid, and lamprophiid snakes.
Data from: Phylogenomic analyses of more than 4000 nuclear loci resolve the origin of snakes among lizard families
Squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) are the most diverse group of terrestrial vertebrates, with more than 10 000 species. Despite considerable effort to resolve relationships among major squamates clades, some branches have remained difficult. Among the most vexing has been the placement of snakes among lizard families, with most studies yielding only weak support for the position of snakes. Furthermore, the placement of iguanian lizards has remained controversial. Here we used targeted sequence capture to obtain data from 4178 nuclear loci from ultraconserved elements from 32 squamate taxa (and five outgroups) including representatives of all major squamate groups. Using both concatenated and species-tree methods, we recover strong support for a sister relationship between iguanian and anguimorph lizards, with snakes strongly supported as the sister group of these two clades. These analyses strongly resolve the difficult placement of snakes within squamates and show overwhelming support for the contentious position of iguanians. More generally, we provide a strongly supported hypothesis of higher-level relationships in the most species-rich tetrapod clade using coalescent-based species-tree methods and approximately 100 times more loci than previous estimates.
FIGURE 3 in New Carlia fusca complex lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from New Guinea, PapuaIndonesia
FIGURE 3. The holotype of Carlia bomberai n. sp., dorsolateral aspect, male in life, MZB AA16285.
FIGURE 1. A in New Carlia fusca complex lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from New Guinea, PapuaIndonesia
FIGURE 1. A paratype of Carlia caesius n. sp., dorsolateral aspect, male in life, BPBM 21157.
FIGURE 2 in Iguanian species-richness in the Andes of boreal Patagonia: Evidence for an additional new Liolaemus lizard from Argentina lacking precloacal glands (Iguania, Liolaeminae)
FIGURE 2. Male (a) and female (b) of Liolaemus tregenzai in life.
FIGURE 3 in A new genus and species of eyelid-less and limb reduced gymnophthalmid lizard from northeastern Brazil (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae)
FIGURE 3. Living specimen of Scriptosaura catimbau from Parque Nacional do Catimbau.
FIGURE 2 in A new genus and two new species of Saurodocus (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Melitidae) from Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia
FIGURE 2. Saurodocus minimarenus sp. nov. holotype female 1.2 mm, AM P77560, Lizard Island.
FIGURE 3 in A new genus and two new species of Saurodocus (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Melitidae) from Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia
FIGURE 3. Saurodocus hobbit sp. nov. holotype female, 2.2 mm, AM P77695, Lizard Island.
FIGURE 1 in A new genus and two new species of Saurodocus (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Melitidae) from Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia
FIGURE 1. Saurodocus minimarenus sp. nov. holotype female, 1.2 mm, AM P77560, Lizard Island.
FIGURE 4 in A new species of night-lizard of the genus Lepidophyma (Squamata: Xantusiidae) from the Cuicatlán Valley, Oaxaca, México
FIGURE 4. Type series of Lepidophyma cuicateca illustrating variation in dorsal color pattern.
FIGURE 3 in A new species of night-lizard of the genus Lepidophyma (Squamata: Xantusiidae) from the Cuicatlán Valley, Oaxaca, México
FIGURE 3. Geographic distribution of the members of the Lepidophyma gaigeae Group.
FIGURE 2 in Lizard in the clouds: a new highland genus and species of Gymnophthalmidae (Reptilia: Squamata) from Maringma tepui, western Guyana
FIGURE 2. Maringma tepui, view of the mountain from the east (20 November 2007).
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Allen Brain Atlas
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