INVESTIGADORES
ABDALA Cristian Simon
artículos
Título:
Running in Cold Weather: Morphology, Thermal Biology, and Performance in the Southernmost Lizard Clade in the World (Liolaemus lineomaculatus Section: Liolaemini: Iguania).
Autor/es:
BONINO M., D. L. MORENO AZOCAR, M. J. TULLI, C. S. ABDALA, M. G. PEROTTI & F. B. CRUZ.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART A-ECOLOGICAL GENETICS AND PHYSIOLOGY
Editorial:
WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC
Referencias:
Año: 2011 vol. 315 p. 495 - 503
ISSN:
1932-5223
Resumen:
The integration or coadaptation of morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits is
represented by whole-organism performance traits such as locomotion or bite force. Additionally,
maximum sprint speed is a good indicator of whole-organism performance capacity as variation in
sprinting ability can affect survival. We studied thermal biology, morphology, and locomotor
performance in a clade of Liolaemus lizards that occurs in the Patagonian steppe and plateaus, a
type of habitat characterized by its harsh cold climate. Liolaemus of the lineomaculatus section
display a complex mixture of conservative and flexible traits. The phylogenetically informed
analyses of these ten Liolaemus species show little coevolution of their thermal traits (only
preferred and optimum temperatures were correlated). With regard to performance, maximum
speed was positively correlated with optimum temperature. Body size and morphology influenced
locomotor performance. Hindlimbs are key for maximal speed, but forelimb length was a better
predictor for sustained speed (i.e. average speed over a total distance of 1.2m). Finally, sustained
speed differed among species with different diets, with herbivores running on average faster over a
long distance than omnivores.