Thermoregulation in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along a 2200-m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (Spain)

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 687-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Senda Reguera ◽  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus

scholarly journals Age structure of a lizard along an elevational gradient reveals nonlinear lifespan patterns with altitude

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mar Comas ◽  
Senda Reguera ◽  
Francisco J Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Activity Time ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus ◽  
Limited Food ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Marginal Habitats

Abstract Lifespan is one of the main components of life history. Shorter lifespans can be expected in marginal habitats. However, in the case of ectotherms, lifespan typically increases with altitude, even though temperature—one of the main factors to determine ectotherms’ life history—declines with elevation. This pattern can be explained by the fact that a shorter activity time favors survival. In this study, we analyzed how lifespan and other life-history traits of the lizard Psammodromus algirus vary along a 2,200 m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). Populations at intermediate altitudes (1,200–1,700 m), corresponding to the optimal habitat for this species, had the shortest lifespans, whereas populations inhabiting marginal habitats (at both low and at high altitudes) lived longest. Therefore, this lizard did not follow the typical pattern of ectotherms, as it also lived longer at the lower limit of its distribution, nor did it show a longer lifespan in areas with optimal habitats. These results might be explained by a complex combination of different gradients along the mountain, namely that activity time decreases with altitude whereas food availability increases. This could explain why lifespan was maximum at both high (limited activity time) and low (limited food availability) altitudes, resulting in similar lifespans in areas with contrasting environmental conditions. Our findings also indicated that reproductive investment and body condition increase with elevation, suggesting that alpine populations are locally adapted.

scholarly journals Crypsis Decreases with Elevation in a Lizard

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda ◽  
Laureano G. González-Granda ◽  
Senda Reguera ◽  
Francisco J. Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Elena Melero
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Dorsal Skin ◽  
Se Spain ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus ◽  
Selection For ◽  
High Elevations

Predation usually selects for visual crypsis, the colour matching between an animal and its background. Geographic co-variation between animal and background colourations is well known, but how crypsis varies along elevational gradients remains unknown. We predict that dorsal colouration in the lizard Psammodromus algirus should covary with the colour of bare soil—where this lizard is mainly found—along a 2200 m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). Moreover, we predict that crypsis should decrease with elevation for two reasons: (1) Predation pressure typically decreases with elevation, and (2) at high elevation, dorsal colouration is under conflicting selection for both crypsis and thermoregulation. By means of standardised photographies of the substratum and colourimetric measurements of lizard dorsal skin, we tested the colour matching between lizard dorsum and background. We found that, along the gradient, lizard dorsal colouration covaried with the colouration of bare soil, but not with other background elements where the lizard is rarely detected. Moreover, supporting our prediction, the degree of crypsis against bare soil decreased with elevation. Hence, our findings suggest local adaptation for crypsis in this lizard along an elevational gradient, but this local adaptation would be hindered at high elevations.

scholarly journals Prey availability, prey selection, and trophic niche width in the lizard Psammodromus algirus along an elevational gradient

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 603-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda ◽  
Elena Melero ◽  
Senda Reguera ◽  
Francisco J Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Inés Álvarez-Benito
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Niche Width ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus

scholarly journals Low genome-wide divergence between two lizard populations with high adaptive phenotypic differentiation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Llanos-Garrido ◽  
Javier Pérez-Tris ◽  
José Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Genetic Divergence ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Phenotypic Differentiation ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Isolation By Environment ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Degree Of Isolation

Usually, adaptive phenotypic differentiation is paralleled by genetic divergence between locally adapted populations. However, adaptation can also happen in a scenario of non-significant genetic divergence due to intense gene flow and/or recent differentiation. While this phenomenon is rarely published, findings on incipient ecologically-driven divergence or isolation by adaptation are relatively common, which could confound our understanding about the frequency at which they actually occur in nature. Here, we explore genome-wide traces of divergence between two populations of the lacertid lizard Psammodromus algirus separated by a 600 m elevational gradient. These populations seem to be differentially adapted to their environments despite showing low levels of genetic differentiation (according to previously studies of mtDNA and microsatellite data). We performed a search for outliers (i.e. loci subject to selection) trying to identify specific loci with FST statistics significantly higher than those expected on the basis of overall, genome-wide estimates of genetic divergence. We find that local phenotypic adaptation (in terms of a wide diversity of characters) was not accompanied by genome-wide differentiation, even when we maximized the chances of unveiling such differentiation at particular loci with FST-based outlier detection tests. Instead, our analyses confirmed the lack of differentiation on the basis of more than 70,000 SNPs, which is concordant with a scenario of local adaptation without any degree of isolation by environment. Our results add evidence to previous studies in which local adaptation does not lead to any kind of isolation (or early stages of ecological speciation), but maintains phenotypic divergence despite the lack of a differentiated genomic background.

scholarly journals Abundance and Productivity of Warbling Vireos Across an Elevational Gradient in the Sierra Nevada

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-325
Author(s):  
Kathryn L. Purcell
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Elevational Distribution ◽  
Source Populations

Abstract Recent studies have shown that Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus) are declining in California and that these trends are due to low reproductive success. Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) has been implicated in the low productivity. I explored two hypotheses related to population dynamics of Warbling Vireos along an elevational gradient: (1) potential source populations exist at high elevations where cowbirds are rare, and (2) potential source populations occur in the center of the elevational distribution with less productive populations at upper and lower elevations. From 1985 through 2002 I studied the abundance and productivity of Warbling Vireos over an elevational gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada. Warbling Vireos were most abundant in mid elevation mixed conifer sites, less abundant in lower elevation ponderosa pine sites and upper elevation true fir sites, and rare in upper elevation lodgepole pine sites. Likewise, daily survival rates of nests were highest at mid elevations (1800 m) and gradually decreased at both higher and lower elevations. Compared to other populations studied in California, nest success in mixed conifer habitat was high (60%, n  =  58). Although rates of brood parasitism were high enough to be of concern in low-elevation ponderosa pine forests, cowbird parasitism was not observed in mid- to upper-elevation forests. Warbling Vireos were most productive where they were most abundant. The hypothesis that potential source populations exist at upper elevations did not appear to hold at the upper bounds of the elevational distribution. The results of this study provide support for the hypothesis that potential source populations occur in the center of the elevational distribution, with less productive populations at both lower and higher elevations.

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