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Seasonal and altitudinal variation in dorsal skin reflectance and thermic rates in a high-altitude montane lizard

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Abstract

Temperature is one of the most important factors in the life histories of ectotherms, as body temperature has an undeniable effect on growth, activity, and reproduction. Lizards have a wide variety of strategies to acquire and maintain body temperature in an optimal range. The “Thermal Melanism Hypothesis” proposes that individuals with lower skin reflectance can heat up faster as a result of absorbing more solar radiation compared to lighter conspecifics. Therefore, having a darker coloration might be advantageous in cold habitats. Dorsal skin reflectance has been found to change rapidly with body temperature in several lizard species, and it can also vary over longer, seasonal time scales. These variations may be important in thermoregulation, especially in lizards that inhabit areas with a large temperature variation during the year. Here, we study how dorsal reflectance fluctuates with body temperature and varies among seasons. We compared dorsal skin reflectance at three body temperature treatments, and measured thermal rates (i.e., heat and cool rate, thermic lapse, and net heat gain) by elevation (2500–4100 m) and seasons (spring, summer, and autumn) in the mesquite lizard, Sceloporus grammicus. Our results show that lizards were darker at high elevations and during the months with the lowest environmental temperatures. The rate of obtaining and retaining heat also varied during the year and was highest during the reproductive season. Our results indicate that the variation of dorsal skin reflectance and thermal rates follows a complex pattern in lizard populations and is affected by both elevation and season.

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Funding

We are grateful to the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologí (Ph.D. degree scholarship JRR and JCGM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Universitario Amecameca, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Estado de México, Instituto Literario No. 100, Col. Centro, Toluca, CP 50000, México

    J. Carlos González-Morales & Erendira Quintana

  2. Doctorado en Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Instituto Literario No. 100, Col. Centro, Toluca, Estado de México, CP 50000, México

    Jimena Rivera-Rea

  3. Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Avenida Fuentenueva S/N, Granda, E-18071, España

    Gregorio Moreno-Rueda

  4. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, 04510, México

    Melissa Plasman

  5. Biology Departament, State University of New York at Oneonta, 108 Ravine Parkway, Oneonta, NY, 13820, USA

    Elizabeth Bastiaans

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  1. J. Carlos González-Morales
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  2. Jimena Rivera-Rea
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  3. Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
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  4. Melissa Plasman
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Contributions

JRR and JCGM conceived and designed the experiments. JRR, EQ and, JCGM performed the experiments. JCGM, GMR, EB analyzed the data. JRR, JCGM, MP, and, GMR wrote the manuscript; other authors provided editorial advice.

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Correspondence to J. Carlos González-Morales.

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All experimental procedures were carried out following the guidelines of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEMéx), as well as the Mexican Federal Regulation for Animal Experimentation and Care (NOM-062-ZOO-2001; governmental approval SGPA/DGVS/ 02407/13).

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González-Morales, J.C., Rivera-Rea, J., Moreno-Rueda, G. et al. Seasonal and altitudinal variation in dorsal skin reflectance and thermic rates in a high-altitude montane lizard. Int J Biometeorol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-024-02677-7

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