Nocturnal temperatures are increasing at a pace exceeding diurnal temperatures in most parts of the world. The role of warmer nocturnal temperatures in animal ecology has received scant attention and most studies focus on diurnal or daily descriptors of thermal environments' temporal trends. Yet, available evidence from plant and insect studies suggests that organisms can exhibit contrasting physiological responses to diurnal and nocturnal warming. Limiting studies to diurnal trends can thus result in incomplete and misleading interpretations of the ability of species to cope with global warming. Although they are expected to be impacted by warmer nocturnal temperatures, insufficient data are available regarding the night-time ecology of vertebrate ectotherms. Here, we illustrate the complex effects of nocturnal warming on squamate reptiles, a keystone group of vertebrate ectotherms. Our review includes discussion of diurnal and nocturnal ectotherms, but we mainly focus on diurnal species for which nocturnal warming affects a period dedicated to physiological recovery, and thus may perturb activity patterns and energy balance. We first summarise the physical consequences of nocturnal warming on habitats used by squamate reptiles. Second, we describe how such changes can alter the energy balance of diurnal species. We illustrate this with empirical data from the asp viper (Vipera aspis) and common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), two diurnal species found throughout western Europe. Third, we make use of a mechanistic approach based on an energy-balance model to draw general conclusions about the effects of nocturnal temperatures. Fourth, we examine how warmer nights may affect squamates over their lifetime, with potential consequences on individual fitness and population dynamics. We review quantitative evidence for such lifetime effects using recent data derived from a range of studies on the European common lizard (Zootoca vivipara). Finally, we consider the broader eco-evolutionary ramifications of nocturnal warming and highlight several research questions that require future attention. Our work emphasises the importance of considering the joint influence of diurnal and nocturnal warming on the responses of vertebrate ectotherms to climate warming.

中文翻译：

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有鳞爬行动物对夜间变暖的生态反应

在世界大部分地区，夜间气温的上升速度超过了白天的气温。夜间气温升高在动物生态学中的作用很少受到关注，大多数研究都集中在热环境时间趋势的昼夜或每日描述符上。然而，植物和昆虫研究的现有证据表明，生物体对昼夜变暖表现出截然不同的生理反应。因此，将研究局限于昼夜趋势可能会导致对物种应对全球变暖能力的不完整和误导性解释。尽管预计它们会受到夜间气温升高的影响，但有关变温脊椎动物夜间生态的数据不足。在这里，我们阐述了夜间变暖对有鳞爬行动物（变温脊椎动物的一个重要群体）的复杂影响。我们的综述包括对昼间和夜间变温动物的讨论，但我们主要关注昼间物种，这些物种的夜间变暖会影响生理恢复的时期，从而可能扰乱活动模式和能量平衡。我们首先总结夜间变暖对有鳞爬行动物栖息地的物理影响。其次，我们描述了这种变化如何改变昼夜物种的能量平衡。我们用来自西欧各地发现的两种昼行性毒蛇（ Vipera aspis）和壁蜥（Podarcis uralis ）的经验数据来说明这一点。第三，我们利用基于能量平衡模型的机械方法来得出有关夜间温度影响的一般结论。第四，我们研究了温暖的夜晚如何影响有鳞动物的一生，并对个体健康和种群动态产生潜在影响。我们使用从欧洲普通蜥蜴（ Zootoca vivipara ）的一系列研究中获得的最新数据来回顾这种终生影响的定量证据。最后，我们考虑了夜间变暖的更广泛的生态进化影响，并强调了需要未来关注的几个研究问题。我们的工作强调了考虑昼间和夜间变暖对脊椎动物变温动物对气候变暖反应的共同影响的重要性。