Lizards Threatened by Rising Temperatures
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Lizards are ectotherms -- animals whose body temperatures vary with surrounding temperatures. Ectotherms, which account for the largest population of animals on Earth, are found in the highest concentrations in tropical areas.
Since the 1940s, scientists have known that lizards regulate their body temperatures by moving between sun and shade. Less well understood has been tropical lizards' adaptability to changes in the temperature and availability of shade in their environment.
A study conducted by Raymond Huey of the University of Washington and colleagues was designed to improve our understanding of these variables. The Huey study, funded by the National Science Foundation, involved:Huey and his team found that in the laboratory, tropical lizards remained at their peak fitness level within narrow ranges of temperatures that reflected average temperatures in tropical climates. When temperatures exceeded these average temperatures even slightly, the speed at which the lizards ran decreased and their responses became relatively sluggish.
Huey's team also found that the average temperature in the Caribbean forest has risen three and a half degrees, from 80 degrees Fahrenheit to 83.5 degrees F. The rise in temperature has caused these lizards to become heat stressed and not able to function as well. This is important because the more slowly lizards move, the more vulnerable they are to predators; this vulnerability may reduce the sizes of their populations.
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115109&govDel=USNSF_1
Since the 1940s, scientists have known that lizards regulate their body temperatures by moving between sun and shade. Less well understood has been tropical lizards' adaptability to changes in the temperature and availability of shade in their environment.
A study conducted by Raymond Huey of the University of Washington and colleagues was designed to improve our understanding of these variables. The Huey study, funded by the National Science Foundation, involved:Huey and his team found that in the laboratory, tropical lizards remained at their peak fitness level within narrow ranges of temperatures that reflected average temperatures in tropical climates. When temperatures exceeded these average temperatures even slightly, the speed at which the lizards ran decreased and their responses became relatively sluggish.
Huey's team also found that the average temperature in the Caribbean forest has risen three and a half degrees, from 80 degrees Fahrenheit to 83.5 degrees F. The rise in temperature has caused these lizards to become heat stressed and not able to function as well. This is important because the more slowly lizards move, the more vulnerable they are to predators; this vulnerability may reduce the sizes of their populations.
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115109&govDel=USNSF_1
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