Environmental causes of between-population difference in growth rate of a high-altitude lizard
Abstract Background Ectothermic animals living in cold (high latitude or high elevation) regions are predicted to grow slower due to limited thermal opportunities for activity and food resources than those living in warm regions. However, the Qinghai toad-headed lizards (Phrynocephalus vlangalii) gr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-09-01
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| Series: | BMC Ecology |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12898-018-0194-8 |
| _version_ | 1818353516789366784 |
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| author | Hong-Liang Lu Chun-Xia Xu Zhi-Gao Zeng Wei-Guo Du |
| author_facet | Hong-Liang Lu Chun-Xia Xu Zhi-Gao Zeng Wei-Guo Du |
| author_sort | Hong-Liang Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Ectothermic animals living in cold (high latitude or high elevation) regions are predicted to grow slower due to limited thermal opportunities for activity and food resources than those living in warm regions. However, the Qinghai toad-headed lizards (Phrynocephalus vlangalii) grow faster and reach a larger adult size at a high-elevation site than at a low-elevation site. In this study, we aimed to identify the genetic and environmental causes of this between-population difference in growth rate by conducting mark-recapture and common garden experiments on juvenile growth rate, and investigating the thermal environment, lizard body temperature, potential prey availability at the two elevation sites. Results Compared with low-elevation individuals, high-elevation juvenile lizards had higher growth rates in the field, but grew at similar rates in the laboratory. High-elevation lizards had higher active body temperatures than low-elevation lizards despite similar air temperatures in the period of field investigation. The high-elevation site had relatively more and larger preys than the low-elevation site. Conclusions Inter-population difference in growth rate of P. vlangalii may primarily result from developmental plasticity in response to the difference in environmental resources, rather than genetic differentiation. The higher growth rate of high-elevation lizards is likely associated with higher potential food availability and higher active body temperatures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T19:10:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dcefca6a22a34e469bc1456d036905f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6785 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T19:10:47Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Ecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-dcefca6a22a34e469bc1456d036905f62022-12-21T23:34:25ZengBMCBMC Ecology1472-67852018-09-011811910.1186/s12898-018-0194-8Environmental causes of between-population difference in growth rate of a high-altitude lizardHong-Liang Lu0Chun-Xia Xu1Zhi-Gao Zeng2Wei-Guo Du3Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityKey Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Background Ectothermic animals living in cold (high latitude or high elevation) regions are predicted to grow slower due to limited thermal opportunities for activity and food resources than those living in warm regions. However, the Qinghai toad-headed lizards (Phrynocephalus vlangalii) grow faster and reach a larger adult size at a high-elevation site than at a low-elevation site. In this study, we aimed to identify the genetic and environmental causes of this between-population difference in growth rate by conducting mark-recapture and common garden experiments on juvenile growth rate, and investigating the thermal environment, lizard body temperature, potential prey availability at the two elevation sites. Results Compared with low-elevation individuals, high-elevation juvenile lizards had higher growth rates in the field, but grew at similar rates in the laboratory. High-elevation lizards had higher active body temperatures than low-elevation lizards despite similar air temperatures in the period of field investigation. The high-elevation site had relatively more and larger preys than the low-elevation site. Conclusions Inter-population difference in growth rate of P. vlangalii may primarily result from developmental plasticity in response to the difference in environmental resources, rather than genetic differentiation. The higher growth rate of high-elevation lizards is likely associated with higher potential food availability and higher active body temperatures.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12898-018-0194-8Phrynocephalus vlangaliiElevational variationGrowth rateFood availabilityActivity period |
| spellingShingle | Hong-Liang Lu Chun-Xia Xu Zhi-Gao Zeng Wei-Guo Du Environmental causes of between-population difference in growth rate of a high-altitude lizard BMC Ecology Phrynocephalus vlangalii Elevational variation Growth rate Food availability Activity period |
| title | Environmental causes of between-population difference in growth rate of a high-altitude lizard |
| title_full | Environmental causes of between-population difference in growth rate of a high-altitude lizard |
| title_fullStr | Environmental causes of between-population difference in growth rate of a high-altitude lizard |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental causes of between-population difference in growth rate of a high-altitude lizard |
| title_short | Environmental causes of between-population difference in growth rate of a high-altitude lizard |
| title_sort | environmental causes of between population difference in growth rate of a high altitude lizard |
| topic | Phrynocephalus vlangalii Elevational variation Growth rate Food availability Activity period |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12898-018-0194-8 |
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