A real tale of Godzilla: impact of climate warming on the growth of a lizard

Autor(es)

Piantoni, Carla ^[1] ; Navas, Carlos A. ^[1] ; Ibarguengoytia, Nora R. ^[2]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biosci, Dept Fisiol, Rua Matao 321, TR 14, Cidade Univ, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn INIBIOMA CONICET, Inst Invest Biodiversidad & Medioambiente, Quintral 1250, RA-8400 San Carlos De Bariloche, Rio Negro - Argentina

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society; v. 126, n. 4, p. 768-782, APR 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Climatic envelope models have predicted the extinction of populations, but few studies have provided accounts of responses of individual species to climate change. Herein, we report on the geographical and temporal variation of growth rates, age at sexual maturity and longevity of two populations of a South American lizard, Tropidurus torquatus. The equator-ward site (forest) was 1-2 degrees C warmer than the pole-ward (urban) site, but both have experienced an increase of 1-2 degrees C over the last four decades. Operative temperatures revealed warmer microenvironments in the urban area than in the forest. Data on growth confirmed that contemporary lizards were larger than specimens collected in the 1960s. Lizards collected in the 1960s attained sexual maturity at 5 years of age at the urban site and 6-7 years at the forest site, whereas in 2012 animals achieved the minimum adult size 2 years earlier at both localities. Juveniles grew more slowly and adults lived longer in the forest. Lifespan did not show any temporal variation; therefore, the reproductive period has increased in both populations over the last four decades. Although short-term effects might be beneficial to lizards such as T. torquatus, further warming could eventually curtail the hours of activity and ultimately affect species fitness and even survival. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 09/54842-7 - Efeitos do aquecimento global sobre populações de Tropidurus torquatus (Squamata: Tropiduridae) no Brasil
• Beneficiário: Carla Piantoni
• Linha de fomento: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado Direto
• Processo FAPESP: 08/57687-0 - Effects of global climate change of the Brazilian fauna: a conservation physiology approach
• Beneficiário: Carlos Arturo Navas Iannini
• Linha de fomento: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa de Pesquisa sobre Mudanças Climáticas Globais - Temático