Climate Change and Lizards: Reproduction Strategy May Need to Change, Researchers Say
-
27/10/2015
-
Nature World News
In an attempt to adjust to increasing climate temperatures, common lizards may start breeding more frequently but also start dying off at a younger age. To better understand retilian response to climate change, an international team of researchers closely examined how a warmer climate of just two-degrees celsius would affect populations of common lizards (Zootoca vivipara) over time. Since a reptile's body temperature depends directly on the atmospheric temperature, researchers predict that lizards will not be able to cope with future climate change estimates. As a result, they believe many common lizards could disappear by the year 2100, according to a news release.
It's no secret that many species across the globe are suffering in the wake of climate change. Marine life, birds, insects, amphibians, and even lizards are on facing new hardships that they must rapidly adapt to if they want to survive. However, it turns out that at least for some species of lizards, they couldn't be happier.
Climate Change: Northern Lizards Thrive in Newfound Warmth
Giant killer lizards roamed Australia during the time early humans first arrived on the southern continent, say researchers who now have the 50,000 year old fossil bones to prove it.
Fossils Of Giant Killer Lizards Shed Light On Dangerous Life of Early Australians
Embedded in the genetic code of several snake species was DNA that generally controls the development and growth of limbs in other animals.
Genetics: Snakes Have Blueprints For Limb Development, Researchers Say
Western Serpentiform Skinks, a remote species that looks like a snake but has the arms and tongue of a lizard, have been considered extinct for a long time. But a recent photographed sighting in Kenya suggests there is hope – and more to learn about this reclusive species.
Extinct Western Serpentiform Skink Spotted in Kenya
Lizards use bright colors to attract mates but this also makes their camouflage less effective, making them visible to predators, report researchers from the University of Cambridge.
Lizards Use Color To Attract Mates Even Though Such Expressions May Get Them Killed
For their study, researchers used a Metatron, which is a system of semi-natural enclosures that allowed them to manipulate temperatures. They created two distinct climates: one similar to present day temperatures and one two-degreesv (celsius) warmer, which certain climate change models predicted for the end of the century. Throughout the course of two years, researchers tested 18 populations of common lizards under both climatic situations, taking not of growth, reproduction and survival rates and concluded that an increased adult mortality would ultimately lead to decreased population rates. Within 20 years, this would cause rapid population extinctions.
"While a two-degrees warmer climate might seem beneficial at first, as it leads to faster growth of juvenile lizards and earlier access to reproduction, it also leads to lower survival in adult individuals, which should endanger population survival," Elvire Bestion, co-lead author of the study from the University of Exeter, explained in the release.
Common lizards are very unique species, in that they give birth to live young, unlike other lizards who lay eggs, and they live farther north than any other reptile species. Generally, common lizards are found throughout areas of Europe and northern Asia. They can also be seen sporting brown, red, grey, green, or black-colored scaly skin.
"Anecdotally, we also showed that warmer climates led some adult females to engage into a second reproduction event during the summer, while these lizards normally reproduce only once a year during the spring. Combined with the earlier juvenile reproduction and the higher adult survival, these results suggest a shift of demographic strategy from a relatively long life and low reproductive output to a faster life, higher reproductive investment. We can wonder whether this strategy shift may help adaptation of populations to warmer climates over time," Bestion added.
The study was recently published in the journal PLOS Biology.