Interplay between climate and phylogeny in modelling life history patterns in the genus Phymaturus from the Andes Mountains and Patagonian steppe of Argentina

CABEZAS-CARTES, F.; BORETTO, J.M.; IBARGÜENGOYTÍA, N.R.

Hangzhou

Congreso; 8 Congreso Mundial de Herpetología; 2016

Many aspects of life-history are expected to be strongly influenced by the environment, given that climate harshness imposes severe limitations to all events in the life-history of ectothermic species. However, the role of the phylogeny is also important in many ecological and physiological traits, especially in taxa highly conservative. This is the case of lizards of the genus Phymaturus, a group of 45 species of viviparous, saxicolous and predominantly herbivorous lizards distributed in a latitudinal and altitudinal gradient in Argentina and Chile. In this study, we analyzed the influence of phylogeny and environmental variables in traits related to growth, reproduction and life-history in the genus Phymaturus. We applied phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) regression models and general linear models to determine the relationship between environmental variables (mean air temperature, temperature range, rainfall and wind speed; obtained from NASA climate database) and life-history traits (age at maturity, longevity, reproductive effort, lifetime reproductive effort, relative reproductive time) of 6 species from the two phylogenetic groups, palluma and patagonicus, of Phymaturus from Argentina. We found no effect of phylogeny over life-history traits analyzed. In contrast, environmental variables influenced most of the life-history traits. Species living in warmer environments (Patagonia) showed lower longevity probably due to the increase in the production of harmful metabolic by-products and higher exposition to predators of these habitats. Also in Patagonia, the increased rainfall affected negatively the biomass that females invest in reproduction throughout their lives, which could be related with the higher availability of food that favors higher metabolic rates reducing longevity, a trait directly linked to lifetime reproductive effort. Meanwhile, in environments with high thermal amplitude as the highlands of the Andes females invest less biomass in reproduction per year, which could be explained by the reduced activity times that prevent females from producing more offspring.