Are mountain habitats becoming more suitable for generalist than cold-adapted lizards thermoregulation?

ABSTRACT: Mountain lizards are highly vulnerable to climate change, and the continuous warming of their habitats could be seriously threatening their survival. We aim to compare the thermal ecology and microhabitat selection of a mountain lizard, Iberolacerta galani, and a widely distributed lizard, Podarcis bocagei, in a montane area. Both species are currently in close syntopy in the study area, at 1,400 m above the sea level. We determined the precision, accuracy and effectiveness of thermoregulation, and the thermal quality of habitat for both species. We also compared the selection of thermal microhabitats between both species. Results show that I. galani is a cold-adapted thermal specialist with a preferred temperature range of 27.9-29.7 °C, while P. bocagei would be a thermal generalist, with

SUBMITTER: Ortega Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4893327 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature