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Acclimatization patterns in tropical reptiles: uncoupling temperature and energetics

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Abstract

The physiological compensation of animals in changing environments through acclimatization has long been considered to be of minor importance in tropical ectotherms due to more stable climatic conditions compared to temperate regions. Contrasting this assumption are reports about a range of metabolic adjustments in tropical species, especially during the last two decades from field acclimatized animals. Metabolic rates are strongly linked to temperature in ectotherms but they also reflect energetic requirements and restrictions. We therefore postulate that the observed variety of acclimatization patterns in tropical reptiles results from an interaction of multiple influences, including food and water availability, rather than from thermal constraints alone. We present new data from two sympatric Malagasy lizards with contrasting acclimatization patterns and, complemented with an extensive literature search, discuss the variety of acclimatization patterns in tropical reptiles with regard to thermal and energetic influences. This broad consideration of constraints allows a rearrangement of apparently controversial patterns into a scheme of decreasing metabolic costs, including two new categories for selective and selective inverse acclimatization, where metabolic shifts are restricted to body temperatures below those preferred during activity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Jörg Ganzhorn for his advice, Jens Oldeland for statistical support, and our anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript. Thanks to our field assistant Maharavo and the staff of the Andohahela National Park. Special thanks to Jacques Rakotondranary and Tolona Andrianasolo for helping us with bureaucratic issues. Our study was conducted under research permits from Madagascar National Parks (permission no. 113/09, 205/11, and 046/12) and all applicable institutional Animal Care guidelines were followed.

Funding information

This work was financially supported by Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst e.V. and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Ecology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Wiebke Berg, Ole Theisinger & Kathrin H. Dausmann

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  1. Wiebke Berg
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  2. Ole Theisinger
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  3. Kathrin H. Dausmann
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Correspondence to Wiebke Berg.

Additional information

Communicated by: Sven Thatje

Electronic supplementary material

Online Resource 1

Daily profile of Tb (brown solid line) and ambient temperature (blue dotted line) of Oplurus quadrimaculatus on a rainy day and the following sunny day, where the animal resumes its normal activity pattern. Shaded areas mark nighttime (GIF 50 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 6199 kb)

Online Resource 2

Data used in the analysis (XLSX 20.6 kb)

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Berg, W., Theisinger, O. & Dausmann, K.H. Acclimatization patterns in tropical reptiles: uncoupling temperature and energetics. Sci Nat 104, 91 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-017-1506-0

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