Correspondence between thermal biology and locomotor performance in a liolaemid lizard from the southeastern coastal Pampas of Argentina

DEMATTEIS, AGOSTINA; STELLATELLI, OSCAR ANÍBAL; BLOCK, CAROLINA; VEGA, LAURA ESTELA; DAJIL, JUAN ESTEBAN; CRUZ, FÉLIX BENJAMÍN

JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2021

0306-4565

The behavioral and physiological mechanisms of thermoregulation and the morphological traits of lizards resultin a particular range of body temperatures, which influence performance and ultimately fitness. We studied thethermal biology and locomotor performance of the lizard Liolaemus wiegmannii from the coastal dunes in thesoutheastern Pampas of Argentina. During the austral summer, we examined the link between thermoregulationand optimal locomotor performance. Liolaemus wiegmannii faced a stressful environment due to high risk ofoverheating; despite this, the species was able to achieve field body temperatures (Mean Tb ± SD = 35.58 ±2.86 ◦C) than expected by chance (i.e., the null model) and suitable for sustaining its physiological performance.Locomotion in this species was thermally-sensitive, with lizards showing high-performance bouts at a relativelywide range of body temperatures (30?38 ◦C). Lizards exhibited a mean maximum running speed of 1.30 m/s at37.3 ◦C (i.e., optimal temperature for locomotion) which was within the set point range of preferred temperature(Tset = 35.4?37.5 ◦C). Therefore, we found a correspondence between thermal optimum and preferred temperature.Our findings suggest that L. wiegmannii, like other lizard species with a broad distribution, is capable ofperforming well across a wide range of temperatures despite the spatiotemporal thermal fluctuations of theenvironment.