Dataset Information

Volatile fatty acid and aldehyde abundances evolve with behavior and habitat temperature in Sceloporus lizards.

ABSTRACT: Animal signals evolve by striking a balance between the need to convey information through particular habitats and the limitations of what types of signals can most easily be produced and perceived. Here, we present new results from field measures of undisturbed behavior and biochemical analyses of scent marks from 12 species of Sceloporus lizards to explore whether evolutionary changes in chemical composition are better predicted by measures of species behavior, particularly those associated with visual displays, chemoreception, and locomotion, or by measures of habitat climate (precipitation and temperature). We found that more active lizard species used fewer compounds in their volatile scent marks, perhaps conveying less specific information about individual and species identity. Scent marks from more active lizard species also had higher proportions of saturated fatty acids, and the evolution of these compounds has been tracking the phylogeny closely as we would expect for a metabolic byproduct. In contrast, the proportions of unsaturated fatty acids were better explained by evolutionary shifts in habitat temperature (and not precipitation), with species in warmer climates using almost no volatile unsaturated fatty acids. The proportion of aldehydes was explained by both behavior and environment, decreasing with behavioral activity and increasing with habitat temperature. Our results highlight the evolutionary flexibility of complex chemical signals, with different chemical compounds responding to different elements of the selective landscape over evolutionary time.

SUBMITTER: Campos SM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7390997 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Volatile fatty acid and aldehyde abundances evolve with behavior and habitat temperature in <i>Sceloporus</i> lizards.

Campos Stephanie M SM Pruett Jake A JA Soini Helena A HA Zúñiga-Vega J Jaime JJ Goldberg Jay K JK Vital-García Cuauhcihuatl C Hews Diana K DK Novotny Milos V MV Martins Emília P EP

Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology 20200520 4

Animal signals evolve by striking a balance between the need to convey information through particular habitats and the limitations of what types of signals can most easily be produced and perceived. Here, we present new results from field measures of undisturbed behavior and biochemical analyses of scent marks from 12 species of <i>Sceloporus</i> lizards to explore whether evolutionary changes in chemical composition are better predicted by measures of species behavior, particularly those associ ...[more]

PMID: 32764859

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Project description:Animals and their microbiomes exert reciprocal influence; the host's environment, physiology, and phylogeny can impact the composition of the microbiome, while the microbes present can affect host behavior, health, and fitness. While some microbiomes are highly malleable, specialized microbiomes that provide important functions can be more robust to environmental perturbations. Recent evidence suggests Sceloporus virgatus has one such specialized microbiome, which functions to protect eggs from fungal pathogens during incubation. Here, we examine the cloacal microbiome of three different Sceloporus species (spiny lizards; Family Phrynosomatidae)-Sceloporus virgatus, Sceloporus jarrovii, and Sceloporus occidentalis. We compare two species with different reproductive modes (oviparous vs. viviparous) living in sympatry: S. virgatus and S. jarrovii. We compare sister species living in similar habitats (riparian oak-pine woodlands) but different latitudes: S. virgatus and S. occidentalis. And, we compare three populations of one species (S. occidentalis) living in different habitat types: beach, low elevation forest, and the riparian woodland. We found differences in beta diversity metrics between all three comparisons, although those differences were more extreme between animals in different environments, even though those populations were more closely related. Similarly, alpha diversity varied among the S. occidentalis populations and between S. occidentalis and S. virgatus, but not between sympatric S. virgatus and S. jarrovii. Despite these differences, all three species and all three populations of S. occcidentalis had the same dominant taxon, Enterobacteriaceae. The majority of the variation between groups was in low abundance taxa and at the ASV level; these taxa are responsive to habitat differences, geographic distance, and host relatedness. Uncovering what factors influence the composition of wild microbiomes is important to understanding the ecology and evolution of the host animals, and can lead to more detailed exploration of the function of particular microbes and the community as a whole.

Dataset Information

Volatile fatty acid and aldehyde abundances evolve with behavior and habitat temperature in Sceloporus lizards.

Publications

Volatile fatty acid and aldehyde abundances evolve with behavior and habitat temperature in <i>Sceloporus</i> lizards.

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