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Urban habitats receive an increasing number of species due to anthropogenic activities, mainly transportations. Here, we report a new addition to the herpetofauna of Athens (Greece): a small population of the Pelasgian wall lizard (Anatololacerta pelasgiana) was found in a suburb of the Athenian metropolitan area. The species normally occurs in southwestern Anatolia and southeastern Aegean islands and this is the first record in the Greek mainland. Allochthonous species that successfully colonize cities raise new challenges to urban ecology.

Contemporary climate change affects population dynamics, but its influence varies with landscape structure. It is still unclear whether landscape fragmentation buffers or amplifies the effects of climate on population size and the age and body size of individuals composing these populations. This study aims to investigate the impacts of warm climates on lizard life-history traits and population dynamics in habitats that vary in their connectivity. We monitored common lizard Zootoca vivipara populations for 3 years in an experimental system in which both climatic conditions and connectivity among habitats were simultaneously manipulated. We considered two climatic treatments (i.e. present-day climate and warm climate [+1.4°C than present-day climate]) and two connectivity treatments (i.e. a connected treatment in which individuals could move from one climate to the other and an isolated treatment in which movement between climates was not possible). We monitored survival, reproduction, growth, dispersal, age and body size of each individual in the system as well as population density through time. We found that the influence of warm climates on life-history traits and population dynamics depended on connectivity among thermal habitats. Populations in warm climates were (i) composed of younger individuals only when isolated; (ii) larger in population size only in connected habitats and (iii) composed of larger age-specific individuals independently of the landscape configuration. The connectivity among habitats altered population responses to climate warming likely through asymmetries in the flow and phenotype of dispersers between thermal habitats. Our results demonstrate that landscape fragmentation can drastically change the dynamics and persistence of populations facing climate change.Le changement climatique actuel impacte la dynamique des populations, mais son influence varie avec la structure du paysage. A ce jour, il est difficile de prédire si la fragmentation du paysage réduit ou augmente les effets du réchauffement climatique sur la taille des populations, ainsi que sur l'âge et la taille corporelle des individus qui composent ces populations. Cette étude s'intéresse aux impacts d'un climat plus chaud sur les traits d'histoire de vie et la dynamique de populations vivant dans des habitats qui diffèrent quant à leur niveau de connectivité. Pendant trois ans, nous avons suivi des populations de lézards vivipares Zootoca vivipara au sein d'un dispositif expérimental qui permet de manipuler simultanément les conditions climatiques et le niveau de connectivité entre habitats. Nous avons considéré deux traitements climatiques [i.e., climat actuel et climat chaud (+1.4°C plus chaud que le climat actuel)] et deux traitements de connectivité (i.e., un traitement connecté au sein duquel les individus pouvaient se déplacer d'un climat à un autre, et un traitement isolé au sein duquel les déplacements entre climats n'étaient pas permis). Tout au long de l'expérience, nous avons mesuré la survie, la reproduction, la croissance, la dispersion, l'âge et la taille corporelle de chaque individu ainsi que la densité des populations. Nous avons observé que l'influence du climat chaud sur les traits d'histoire de vie et la dynamique de population dépendait du niveau de connectivité entre habitats. Les populations en climat chaud étaient composées (i) d'individus plus jeunes seulement en habitat isolé, (ii) de plus d'individus uniquement en habitat connecté et (iii) d'individus plus grands à âge égal et ce indépendamment de la configuration du paysage. Nos résultats montrent que le niveau de connectivité entre habitats altère les réponses des populations au réchauffement climatique via une asymétrie dans le flux et le phénotype des dispersants entre climats. Nos résultats démontrent que la fragmentation du paysage peut influencer de façon drastique la dynamique et la persistance des populations face au changement climatique.

Ornamental traits such as ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence and reflectance can provide honest signals indicating the bearer’s condition as a potential mate. UV fluorescence is widely found in nature and used for multiple functions, such as indicating female maturity in arachnids and acting as a signal enhancer in many insects. Lizards can display a broad range of colours, but the function of some of their ornamental traits remains unclear. Here, we report the presence of UV fluorescence in female Eremias argus specimens, a small lizard ranging across Mongolia, China and the Korean Peninsula. Based on our observation, combined with the literature on the breeding behaviour of the species, we provide two hypotheses, assigning the use of UV fluorescence to: 1) an indicator of females body conditions and 2) signal efficacy backup. To verify our hypotheses, we suggest a protocol with three serial trials under low light and enhanced UV light conditions., Journal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki, Vol 30 (2023)

Accurate identification of animal species is necessary to understand biodiversity richness, monitor endangered species, and study the impact of climate change on species distribution within a specific region. Camera traps represent a passive monitoring technique that generates millions of ecological images. The vast numbers of images drive automated ecological analysis as essential, given that manual assessment of large datasets is laborious, time-consuming, and expensive. Deep learning networks have been advanced in the last few years to solve object and species identification tasks in the computer vision domain, providing state-of-the-art results. In our work, we trained and tested machine learning models to classify three animal groups (snakes, lizards, and toads) from camera trap images. We experimented with two pretrained models, VGG16 and ResNet50, and a self-trained convolutional neural network (CNN-1) with varying CNN layers and augmentation parameters. For multiclassification, CNN-1 achieved 72% accuracy, whereas VGG16 reached 87%, and ResNet50 attained 86% accuracy. These results demonstrate that the transfer learning approach outperforms the self-trained model performance. The models showed promising results in identifying species, especially those with challenging body sizes and vegetation.

Skin is a bi-layered organ that heals either through scar formation or scar-free regeneration. Using the leopard gecko, a species capable of spontaneous regeneration, we conducted a structural and functional investigation of skin before, during and after regeneration. Using ImageJ/FIJI, we quantified various measurements of vascularity and collagen architecture from skin of the original body, original tail, and regenerated tail. We also used uniaxial and biaxial tensile testing to explore skin function. Overall, we determined that the vascularity and collagen architecture of regenerated skin is structurally equivalent to original skin. With uniaxial testing, we found that the tensile strength of regenerated skin improves over time, but it never achieves pre-injury values. Using biaxial testing, we determined that the tensile properties of original skin varied across the body and during ontogeny. Taken together, these data underscore the complexity of skin and suggest structural but not functional replacement is achieved during regeneration. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

GENERAL INFORMATION -------------------------------------------- 1. Title of Dataset: Data and code for: Plastic responses to warmer climates: a semi-natural experiment on lizard populations, Bestion et al 2023, Evolution doi: 10.1093/evolut/qpad070 2. Author Information A. First Author Contact Information Name: Elvire Bestion Institution: Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, CNRS, UAR 2029 Address: 2 route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France Email: elvire.bestion@sete.cnrs.fr B. Last Author Contact Information Name: Julien Cote Institution: Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, UMR 5174 Address: 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France Email: julien.cote@univ-tlse3.fr 3. Abstract: Facing warming environments, species can exhibit plastic or microevolutionary changes in their thermal physiology to adapt to novel climates. Here, using semi-natural mesocosms, we experimentally investigated over two successive years whether a 2°C-warmer climate produces selective and inter- and intragenerational plastic changes in the thermal traits (preferred temperature and dorsal colouration) of the lizard Zootoca vivipara. In a warmer climate, the dorsal darkness, dorsal contrast and preferred temperature of adults plastically decreased and covariances between these traits were disrupted. While selection gradients were overall weak, selection gradients for darkness were slightly different between climates and in the opposite direction to plastic changes. Contrary to adults, male juveniles were darker in warmer climates either through plasticity or selection and this effect was strengthened by intergenerational plasticity when juveniles’ mothers also experienced warmer climates. While the plastic changes in adult thermal traits alleviate the immediate overheating costs of warming, its opposite direction to selective gradients and to juveniles’ phenotypic responses may slow down evolutionary shifts towards phenotypes that are better adapted to future climates. Our study demonstrates the importance of considering inter- and intragenerational plasticity along with selective processes to better understand adaptation and population dynamics in light of climate change. 4. Keywords: climate change, ectotherm, lizard, phenotypic plasticity, natural selection, intergenerational plasticity, thermal physiology 5. Date of data collection: May 2012 to May 2014 for the main dataset, and May 2013 to May 2015 for the side-experiment on maternal effects 6. Geographic location of data collection: Station of Theoretical and Experimental Ecology, Ariège, France, 43°01' N, 1°05' E 7. Taxon/species from which data was collected: Common lizards (Zootoca vivipara, Jacquin 1787) SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION --------------------------------------------------- 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: The data is usable under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence but we would appreciate if we were contacted prior to meaningful use, and this dataset and the matching paper cited if appropriate. 2. Links to publications that cite or use the data: This dataset corresponds to the data used in: Bestion E, San-Jose LM, Di Gesu L, Richard M, Sinervo B, Côte J, Calvez O, Guillaume O, & Cote J. 2023. Plastic responses to warmer climates: a semi-natural experiment on lizard populations. Evolution, doi: 10.1093/evolut/qpad070 3. Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: The data can be found on zenodo at doi:10.5281/zenodo.7845944 4. Was data derived from another source? NO 5. Recommended citation for this dataset: Bestion et al, 2023. Data and code from: Plastic responses to warmer climates: a semi-natural experiment on lizard populations. Evolution, Zenodo doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7845944 DATA & FILE OVERVIEW ------------------------------------- The data is composed of a zip file containing: * The present README.txt file * Nine R files used to run the analyses: # 0_important_functions.R --> functions used in the main analysis scripts # 1_climate_impact_on_phenotype_at_tp1.R --> the 1st part of the main R script. The script calls to the 0_important_functions.R for functions, uses data in the /data folder, outputs diagnostic plots and info in the /interm folder, outputs means and SEM for figures to the /figure_values folders. This first part of the analysis script tests for the impacts of climate warming on thermal phenotype at t+1 in the juveniles and adults from the main 2012-2013 experiment. # 2_plasticity.R --> The 2nd part of the main script, to be run after #1 script. This part of the analysis tests for plastic effects of climate warming on phenotype in juveniles and adults from the main 2012-2013 experiment. # 3_selection.R --> The 3rd part of the main script, to be run after #2 script. This part of the analysis tests for differential selection in phenotypic traits depending on climate in juveniles and adults from the main 2012-2013 experiment. # 4_heritability.R --> The 4th part of the main script, to be run after #3 script. This part of the analysis tests heritability of phenotypic traits in juveniles from the main 2012-2013 experiment. # 5_SEM.R --> The 5th part of the main script, to be run after #4 script. This part of the analysis tests for the impact of climate warming on thermal syndromes, i.e. covariation between thermal traits in juveniles and adults from the main 2012-2013 experiment. # 6_maternal_effects.R --> The 6th part of the main script, to be run after #5 script. This part of the analysis uses the data from juveniles in 2013 issued from surviving mothers from the 2012 experiment, supplemented with a side experiment in 2014 on the juveniles issued from surviving mothers from the 2013 experiment, to test for the impact of climate warming on intergenerational plasticity of thermal traits. # 7_checking_models_with_deltaAIC_4.R --> The 7th part of the main script, to be run after #6 script. This part checks for the of the analysis tests for the impact of climate warming on thermal syndromes, i.e. covariation between thermal traits in juveniles and adults from the main 2012-2013 experiment. # 8_exporting_tables_to_word.R --> The 8th part of the main script, to be run after all scripts. This part creates the composite figures and outputs them and the tables to the /out folder. * A /data folder with 3 datasets: # data/Bestion_adults.csv --> dataset for adults and yearlings from the main 2012-2013 experiment, to test the impacts of climate warming on phenotype at t+1, selection and plasticity on the traits. # data/Bestion_adults.csv --> dataset for juveniles from the main 2012-2013 experiment, to test the impacts of climate warming on phenotype at t+1, selection and plasticity on the traits, and heritability of the traits. # data/Bestion_juveniles_for_maternal_effects.csv --> dataset including juveniles in 2013 born from the mothers surviving the 2012 experiment, and including juveniles in a side-experiment in 2014 that were born from the mothers surviving the 2013 experiment, to test the impact of intergenerational plasticity. * An /interm folder with : # interm/R_session_info_2023-03-29.txt --> the session information about the R version and R packages used when running the R code # note that while running the R code, other data will be saved to the /interm folder (e.g. heritability models, diagnostic plots about all models, …). Only the files that cannot be reproduced by the R code alone such as the session info were kept in the folder for facility of use. * An empty /figure_values folder. While running the R code, data with the means and SEM of the traits by climates will be saved to the folder, to easily reproduce figures and get summarised data for meta-analyses. * An /out folder with the figures and tables resulting from the analysis and found in the main paper and the supplementary data: # out/Figure_2_traits_adults_tp1.png --> the figure 2 # out/Figure_3_plasticity_selection_adults.png--> the figure 3 # out/Figure_4_maternal_effects_juveniles.png --> the figure 4 # out/Figure_SB1_traits_juveniles_tp1.png --> the figure SB1 # out/Figure_SC1_selection_juveniles.png--> the figure SC1 # out/Figure_SD1_plasticity_juveniles.png--> the figure SD1 # out/Figure_SD2_impacts_of_plasticity_on_survival_adults.png--> the figure SD2 # out/Appendix B - Impact of climatic treatment on phenotype at tp1.docx --> The tables SB1 to SB4 from the appendix B, as well as information about the models from the tables to add to the legends of the tables (e.g. N, R²m and R²c, SD explained by random components, variance inflation factors for the variables in the models). # out/Appendix C - Selective processes.docx --> The tables SC1 to SC3 from the appendix C, as well as information about the models from the tables to add to the legends of the tables. # out/Appendix D - Trait plasticity.docx --> The tables SD1 to SD3 from the appendix D, as well as information about the models from the tables to add to the legends of the tables. # out/Appendix E - Heritability of phenotypic traits.docx -->The table SE1 from the appendix E. # out/Appendix F - Maternal effects.docx --> The table SF1 from the appendix F, as well as information about the models from the table to add to the legend of the table. # out/Appendix G - Robustness of statistical results.docx --> The tables SG1 to SG4 from the appendix G, as well as information about the models from the tables to add to the legends of the tables. METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION -------------------------------------------------- 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: A detailed explanation of the methods is provided in the related Bestion et al 2023 Evolution article, please refer to it for a full understanding of the methods and results. Briefly: Our aim was to study experimentally whether climate warming affected the thermal phenotype (i.e. preferred temperature, dorsal darkness, dorsal contrast) of a lizard through selection, intra-generational and inter-generational plasticity. Between May 2012 and May 2014, we performed two one-year experiments inside of the Metatron (Legrand et al. 2012, Nature Methods), a system of forty-eight 10 x 10 m semi-natural mesocosms. Over the two years of experiment, we created 16 populations in 16 mesocosms, and simulated present-day and +2°C warmer climatic conditions through the use of automatic shutters. Every year, mid-May, we captured all surviving lizards from the mesocosms. We measured them for body size, a tail tip was taken for paternity analysis, and a dorsal picture was taken to measure dorsal darkness and dorsal contrast. We assessed lizard preferred temperature in a thermal gradient. Female gave birth inside of the terraria, and juveniles were also genotyped for paternity analysis, measured for body size, and their preferred temperature was assessed. In June-July, lizards were released into the mesocosms to form 16 populations released into 3 mesocosms per climate (i.e. 6 mesocosms) in 2012, and 5 mesocosms per climate (i.e. 10 mesocosms) in 2013. . Each mesocosm contained 11 ± 1 two-or-more-year-old (2+yo) females, 6 ± 1 (2+yo) males, 9 ± 2 one-year-olds (1yo) and 37 ± 4 juveniles ( The data from the two years of experiment allowed to test 4 main questions: 1) What is the impact of a warmer climate on lizard thermal phenotype (studying traits at t+1 on survivors) and thermal syndromes between traits, 2) Is the impact due to plasticity (effect of climate on traits at t and t+1), 3) Is the impact due to selection (impacts of traits at t on survival at t+1), 4) Are the traits heritable? Further, the data from the 2013 experiment on juveniles, together with data from a side-experiment in 2014 also on juveniles maintained in the Metatron in the two climate treatments, allowed to test a 5th question: 5) what is the impact of inter- and intra-generational plasticity on thermal traits? 2. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: To reproduce the analyses, the data should be read in R with the provided R scripts. The R version and the version of the packages used to reproduce the data are found in the interm/ R_session_info_2023-03-29.txt file. 3. Environmental/experimental conditions: The experiment was done in 10 x 10 m semi-natural mesocosms, in which lizards were maintained for one year at a time. Two climatic treatments were applied to the mesocosms, a present-day climate and a +2°C warmer climate. 4. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: Elvire Bestion and Julien Cote designed the study, Elvire Bestion, Lucie Di Gesu, Olivier Calvez, Olivier Guillaume and Julien Cote performed the experiment, Murielle Richard performed the extractions, the polymerase chain reaction and analysed the paternity data. Barry Sinervo, Jessica Côte and Luis M. San Jose provided assistance with the animal models. Elvire Bestion and Julien Cote analysed and interpreted the data. Elvire Bestion and Julien Cote wrote the first draft and Luis M. San Jose, Barry Sinervo, Murielle Richard and Jessica Côte significantly contributed to redrafting. 5. Ethics statement: Experiments followed French ethics regulations and CNRS institutional ethics guidelines. We applied the 3R rule by reducing the number of lizards to the minimum to form enough populations and providing care appropriate to the species. Lizards were captured from the wild according to the capture licence number 2010-189-16 DREAL and transferred to the laboratory (laboratory use of animals: agreement B09583). Experiments were started before the need of obtaining a permit following French law (article R.214-113, ordonnance 2012-10, décret 2013-118, arrêtés 1er février 2013, transposing EU directive 2010/63/UE), however we then obtained a permit for further experiments following the same procedure (permits number APAFIS#15897-2018070615164391 v3 and APAFIS#19523-201902281559649 v3 obtained from the ethics comity n°068). DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------- DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Bestion_adults.csv ----------------------------------------------- 1. Number of variables: 20 2. Number of cases/rows: 380 3. Variable List: Year: year of the experiment (2012 or 2013) Code: code of the individual (identification) Age_t: age of the individual at the time of the start of the experiment, as a class (A: adult: 2+ year-old, Y: yearling: 1 year-old) Sex: sex of the individual, M or F Body_size_t: body size at the start of the experiment, snout-vent length in mm Tpref_t: preferred temperature at the start of the experiment, in °C Dorsal_darkness_t: mean dorsal darkness at the start of the experiment, mean percentage of black pixels between the median part and the flanks Dorsal_contrast_t: dorsal contrast at the start of the experiment, as absoltue darkness difference between the flanks and median parts divided by median darkness Darkness_median_part_t: dorsal darkness in the median part of the lizard body at the start of the experiment, percentage of black pixels in transformed pictures Darkness_flanks_t: dorsal darkness in the flanks of the lizard at the start of the experiment, percentage of black pixels in transformed pictures Climate_Intro: Climatic treatment inside of the mesocosm, either warm or present Mesocosm_Intro: mesocosm number (identification) Population_Intro: composite identification number composed of the mesocosm number and the year (identification) Survival: survival after one year of experiment inside of the mesocosms, 1= survived or 0 = dead Body_size_tp1: body size at the end of the experiment on survivors, snout-vent length in mm Tpref_tp1: preferred temperature at the start of the experiment, in °C Dorsal_darkness_tp1: mean dorsal darkness at the end of the experiment on survivors, mean percentage of black pixels between the median part and the flanks Dorsal_contrast_tp1: dorsal contrast at the end of the experiment on survivors, as absolute darkness difference between the flanks and median parts divided by median darkness Darkness_median_part_tp1: dorsal darkness in the median part of the lizard at the end of the experiment on survivors, percentage of black pixels in transformed pictures Darkness_flanks_tp1: dorsal darkness in the flanks of the lizard at the end of the experiment on survivors, percentage of black pixels in transformed pictures 4. Missing data codes: NA (for traits at t+1 of individuals that did not survive to t+1, and rare missing measurements at t or t+1) DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Bestion_juveniles.csv ----------------------------------------------- 1. Number of variables: 19 2. Number of cases/rows: 536 3. Variable List: Year: year of the experiment (2012 or 2013) Code: code of the individual (identification) Code_Mother: code of the mother of the individual (identification) Code_Father: code of the father of the individual (identification) Age_t

Within captive management programs for species of conservation concern, understanding the genetic mating system is of fundamental importance, given its role in generating and maintaining genetic diversity and promoting opportunities for sperm competition. If a goal of a conservation program is reintroduction, knowledge of the mating system may also inform prediction models aimed at understanding how genetic diversity may be spatially organized, thus informing decisions regarding where and which individuals should be released in order to maximize genetic diversity in the wild population. Within captive populations, such information may also influence how animals are maintained in order to promote natural behaviors. Here we investigate the genetic mating system of the Guatemalan beaded lizard, Heloderma charlesbogerti, a member of a genus lacking such information. A group of adult male and female H. charlesbogerti were co-habited for five years during the species perceived breeding season. Through genomic parentage analysis, 50% of clutches comprising multiple offspring were found to result from polyandry, with up to three males siring offspring within single clutches. Furthermore, males were found to be polygamous both within and across seasons, and females would exhibit promiscuity across seasons. As such, within this captive environment, where opportunities existed for mating with multiple sexual partners, the genetic mating system was found to be highly promiscuous, with multiple paternity common within clutches. These findings are novel for the family Helodermatidae, and the results have broader implications about how reproductive opportunities should be managed within captive conservation programs.

Aim: Analyses of biogeographical patterns and macroecology of islands require large datasets reporting the occurrence of species. The Mediterranean region is a biodiversity hotspot, which hosts a large number of reptile species and has been the focus of many studies. Nevertheless, comprehensive inventories describing the features and biodiversity of these environments are lacking. We gathered a dataset summarizing data on reptile distribution on islands of the Mediterranean basin and Macaronesia, also including detailed information on the geographical features. Location: Islands from the Mediterranean Basin, the Atlantic Ocean within the Mediterranean biogeographical region, and Macaronesia (Canary and Savage Islands, Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde). Time period: Present. Taxon: Reptiles (squamates and turtles). Methods: Initially, we developed a geographical database describing islands of the study region, then gathered information on reptile occurrences from 757 bibliographical sources, including atlases, published papers and the grey literature. Through a critical review of these sources, we also obtained information on the status of populations (native, island endemic or non-native) and on the reliability of occurrence data. Results: We obtained basic geographical information from 1875 islands covering the whole study region and with a very broad range of geographical features. We gathered >4150 records of reptile occurrence on islands, referring to 198 taxonomic units (species or species complexes); information on population status was available for 84.9% of records. Data are provided as comma-delimited text files. Main conclusions: The database provides a key resource for biogeographical analyses and can also serve as a backbone for conservation studies. The availability of a large database on island features can also be useful for biogeographers working on other taxonomic groups. Nevertheless, more data are required for some geographical areas, in order to ascertain the status (e.g., native vs. non-native) of many populations and to understand the interplay between natural and human-driven processes.

Species vary extensively in geographic range size and climatic niche breadth. If range limits are primarily determined by climatic factors, species with broad climatic tolerances and those that track geographically widespread climates should have large ranges. However, large ranges might increase the probability of population fragmentation and adaptive divergence, potentially decoupling climatic niche breadth and range size. Conversely, ecological generalism in large-ranged species might lead to higher gene flow across climatic transitions, increasing species' cohesion and thus decreasing genetic isolation by distance (IBD). Focusing on Australia's iconic

Three new species were recently described from the Calotes mystaceus Duméril & Bibron, 1837 complex. Of the three new species, C. vindumbarbatus Wagner, Ihlow, Hartmann, Flecks, Schmitz & Böhme, 2021 was known only from northern Myanmar. Seven specimens of lizard were collected from Tongbiguan Nature Reserve, western Yunnan, China. Phylogenetically, these specimens clustered with the type specimens of Calotes vindumbarbatus from Myanmar with strong support and showed inappreciable genetic divergence from the type specimens of C. vindumbarbatus. We report the first country record of C. vindumbarbatus from China. In addition, a supplementary description, based on the newly-collected specimens and revised diagnosis of this species, was provided.

Interspecific aggression has important fitness consequences across the animal kingdom and can be especially important during species invasions, where asymmetric interactions between native and invasive species can lead to native species declines. We investigated the immediate behavioural consequences of interspecific interactions for a native species, the green anole lizard, Anolis carolinensis, after an invasion by a closely related invasive species, the Cuban brown anole, Anolis sagrei. We housed captive populations of green anoles (6 males, 6 females) in large outdoor enclosures and recorded their display behaviours (displays/min), activity levels (movements/min) and habitat use (2D and 3D home range size, perch height) for 10 days. We then introduced brown anoles and recorded the green anoles' behaviours for another 10 days, seeking differences between pre- and post-invasion behaviours. We recorded behavioural interactions between individuals (i.e. headbob and dewlap displays, chases, mating attempts, fights and copulations) throughout the study. To serve as a density control, we duplicated the experiment in a second enclosure using green anoles as ‘invaders’. We performed the experiment eight times with two densities of invaders: high (4 males, 4 females) and low (2 males, 2 females). We found that green anoles have smaller two-dimensional and three-dimensional home ranges and higher average perch heights after invasions but that these changes resulted from increased population densities rather than aggression from brown anole invaders. Furthermore, although green and brown anoles did display to each other, both species preferentially interacted with conspecifics and escalated aggressive behaviours between the two species (e.g. lock-jawed fights) rarely occurred. Taken together, these findings indicate that high brown anole population densities, rather than direct interference competition, could be driving green anole displacement across the brown anole's invasive range.

The introduction of mammalian predators often results in loss of native biodiversity due to naiveté of native prey to novel predators. In New Zealand, an island system with virtually no native mammalian predators, introduced mammalian predators threaten a large proportion of the native fauna. A critical step in adapting to introduced predators is the ability to recognize and respond to a novel predation threat. Whether New Zealand's lizards can do this has received little attention. We compared the basking behaviour of native McCann's skinks (Oligosoma maccanni) when exposed to a live cat (Felis catus), cat body odour, a model raptor (representing a coevolved predator) or procedural controls. We inferred predator recognition from reductions in individual basking and higher selection for basking sites with greater refuge availability. We tested these behavioural responses for two skink populations: one from an area with high abundance of mammalian predators including feral cats and the other from a fenced conservation reserve where predators have been excluded for over 10 years (3–4 skink generations). Skinks from the high-predator population reduced basking when exposed to cat and raptor cues, whereas skinks from the predator-free population did not. These results suggest that within approximately 150 years of exposure to novel predators, McCann's skinks might be able to recognize the threat posed by invasive mammals. However, they also demonstrate that predator recognition and antipredator behaviours may not necessarily be retained once gained. The rapid loss of basking-related antipredator behaviours might reflect the high fitness costs of reduced basking for this species. Our results indicate that the behavioural response of skinks is flexible and that skinks may maximize individual fitness by balancing the risk of predation with the costs of antipredator behaviours

The negative ecological impacts of invasive species are well documented, although their effects are often more pronounced on islands than on the mainland. This is because many island species exhibit high degrees of endemism, have small geographic distributions, are rare, and exhibit low genetic diversity, which reduces their ability to respond to new emerging threats. One of the world's most notorious invasive species is the cane toad (Rhinella marina), which is a voracious predator that is native to the neo-tropics but was intentionally introduced in the early 20th century to many warm regions and islands to control crop pests. Cane toads produce two kinds of toxins in neck glands that are often lethal to non-adapted predators in the invasive range. Although well-studied in Australia, their ecological impacts on many islands have received much less attention. Australia is the sixth largest country on Earth, so the effects of cane toads on small island nations may differ considerably from there. Here, we discuss the potential ecological impacts of cane toads in the Philippines and on other island nations. Cane toads were introduced onto the largest Philippine island, Luzon, in 1930 and have since spread over all but a few of the 7641 islands that make up the country. We speculate that, unlike most biological invasions with predators or herbivores where the ecological effects are strictly 'top-down', cane toads, by virtue of their biology and ecology, may have even more serious effects on island fauna because they exhibit both 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' effects.

The growing interest in reptiles has posed a challenge to veterinary clinicians due to the lack of a standardized system to perform anatomical studies similar to those used for dogs and cats. In this paper, we have attempted to describe, employing computed tomography and subsequent three-dimensional reconstructions, the normal anatomical features that comprise the skulls of two species of reptiles: the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and the green iguana (Iguana iguana). Computed tomography (CT) and subsequent image processing allowed the identification of the bony structures that comprise the head of these species. As a result, and based on previous articles, we propose the most significant anatomical differences and similarities between these species.

Throughout my thesis, I explore the importance of macro-invertebrate decomposers within Australian drylands and the influence of the loss of a terrestrial top predator on brown food webs which originate from dead vegetation. I highlight the variety of decomposition pathways in global drylands and introduce the Brown pulse framework which details the prevalence of these pathways in relation to water availability (Chapter 1). Additionally, I explore the importance of brown food webs within drylands and highlight their interactions with green food webs. The extirpation of a top predator, the dingo, from large parts of southern Australian ecosystems has allowed me to compare differences in vegetation and macro-invertebrate decomposers in their presence or absence. I showed that where dingoes were absent, there were differences in mammal communities which led to a higher density of trees and lower abundance of grass (Chapter 2 and 3). Subsequently, macro-invertebrate detritivores which feed on dead wood and dead grass were more prevalent and contributed more highly to decomposition in certain habitats over others. Where dingoes are absent and large herbivores have become overabundant, I used large herbivore exclosures to assess their influence on live vegetation cover, dead vegetation cover, detritivores, and their predators (Chapter 4 and 5). I found that large herbivores suppressed pulses of live vegetation and dead vegetation which led to lower abundances of detritivores and their predators, especially in more productive drylands. Overall, I showed that interactions within green food webs, as influenced by the presence or absence of a large terrestrial predator, disrupts the transfer of energy to brown food webs. Herbivory has also been shown to negatively influence macro-detritivores throughout global drylands (Chapter 6) suggesting that disruptions to brown food webs are experienced throughout the world. The findings from my thesis give a first insight into the interactions between green and brown food webs in drylands as well as highlighting the central role of macro-detritivores within their function. In the future, a changing climate and an increase in grazing pressure will further alter the dynamics of the green pulse and the brown pulse which will potentially disrupt the stability of dryland communities.

Simple Summary Bacterial infections can play an important role in dermatitis in lizards. The bacterial species Devriesea (D.) agamarum is a known cause of dermatitis, cheilitis and even fatal disease in lizards. Disease has most often been reported in Uromastyx species, but other lizards may also be affected. However, some are asymptomatic carriers, increasing the risk of spreading D. agamarum. Usually, D. agamarum is detected with culture-based methods. It was the aim of this study to establish a real-time PCR assay to expand diagnostic options in routine diagnostics. The presented assay is able to detect D. agamarum in clinical samples, decreasing laboratory turn-around time in comparison to conventional culture-based detection methods. This enables a fast therapeutic approach for affected animals and decreases the risk of spread. (1) Background: Devriesea (D.) agamarum is a potential cause of dermatitis and cheilitis in lizards. The aim of this study was to establish a real-time PCR assay for the detection of D. agamarum. (2) Methods: Primers and probe were selected targeting the 16S rRNA gene, using sequences of 16S rRNA genes of D. agamarum as well as of other bacterial species derived from GenBank. The PCR assay was tested with 14 positive controls of different D. agamarum cultures as well as with 34 negative controls of various non-D. agamarum bacterial cultures. Additionally, samples of 38 lizards, mostly Uromastyx spp. and Pogona spp., submitted to a commercial veterinary laboratory were tested for the presence of D. agamarum using the established protocol. (3) Results: Concentrations of as low as 2 x 10(4) colonies per mL were detectable using dilutions of bacterial cell culture (corresponding to approximately 200 CFU per PCR). The assay resulted in an intraassay percent of coefficient of variation (CV) of 1.31% and an interassay CV of 1.80%. (4) Conclusions: The presented assay is able to detect D. agamarum in clinical samples, decreasing laboratory turn-around time in comparison to conventional culture-based detection methods.

Facing warming environments, species can exhibit plastic or microevolutionary changes in their thermal physiology to adapt to novel climates. Here, using semi-natural mesocosms, we experimentally investigated over two successive years whether a 2°C-warmer climate produces selective and inter- and intragenerational plastic changes in the thermal traits (preferred temperature and dorsal coloration) of the lizard Zootoca vivipara. In a warmer climate, the dorsal darkness, dorsal contrast, and preferred temperature of adults plastically decreased and covariances between these traits were disrupted. While selection gradients were overall weak, selection gradients for darkness were slightly different between climates and in the opposite direction to plastic changes. Contrary to adults, male juveniles were darker in warmer climates either through plasticity or selection and this effect was strengthened by intergenerational plasticity when juveniles’ mothers also experienced warmer climates. While the plastic changes in adult thermal traits alleviate the immediate overheating costs of warming, its opposite direction to selective gradients and to juveniles’ phenotypic responses may slow down evolutionary shifts toward phenotypes that are better adapted to future climates. Our study demonstrates the importance of considering inter- and intragenerational plasticity along with selective processes to better understand adaptation and population dynamics in light of climate change.

Reptiles have a key role in understanding amniotes’ reproductive independence of water. Many adaptations arose, including in locomotor patterns and behaviours, and the nervous system adapted to those new habits. We have described the macroscopic anatomy and cytoarchitecture of the Amazon Lava Lizard brain (Tropidurus torquatus), an abundant lizard in South America. Fifteen specimens were captured, euthanized and their brains were dissected, eight of these were processed and stained in haematoxylin-eosin. Their main areas of the brain are the telencephalon and diencephalon, in the forebrain, tectum and tegmentum, in the midbrain and medulla oblongata and cerebellum, in the hindbrain. The main and accessory olfactory bulbs are the most rostral structure of the brain and are composed of six layers. Brain hemispheres compose the telencephalon and are divided in pallium and subpallium. Medial, dorsomedial, lateral and dorsal cortices are part of the pallium. Striatum, pallidum and septum compose the subpallium. The diencephalon is composed of thalamus, epithalamus and hypothalamus. The midbrain has a ventral tegmentum, composed of torus semicircularis and a dorsal 14 layered optic tectum. Most part of the hindbrain is composed of the medulla oblongata, and the cerebellum arises from it, forming a three-layered plate like structure. In general, the brain of Tropidurus torquatus resembles those of other lizards, with its own adaptations. Resumo Os répteis têm um papel fundamental para a compreensão da independência reprodutiva da água que surgiu nos amniotas. Várias adaptações ocorreram, inclusive em padrões e comportamentos locomotores, e o sistema nervoso se adaptou a esses novos hábitos. Descrevemos a anatomia macroscópica e a citoarquitetura do encéfalo do calango (Tropidurus torquatus), um lagarto abundante na América do Sul. Quinze espécimes foram capturados, eutanasiados e seus encéfalos dissecados, oito destes foram processados e corados em hematoxilina-eosina. As principais áreas do cérebro são o telencéfalo e o diencéfalo, na parte anterior do encéfalo, teto e tegmento, no mesencéfalo e bulbo e cerebelo, na parte posterior do encéfalo. Os bulbos olfatórios principais e acessórios são as estruturas mais rostrais do cérebro e são compostos por seis camadas. Os hemisférios cerebrais compõem o telencéfalo e são divididos em pálio e subpálio. Os córtices medial, dorsomedial, lateral e dorsal fazem parte do pálio. Estriado, pálido e septo compõem o subpálio. O diencéfalo é composto pelo tálamo, epitálamo e hipotálamo. O mesencéfalo possui um tegmento ventral, composto de torus semicircularis e um tecto óptico dorsal com 14 camadas. A maior parte da parte posterior do encéfalo é composta pelo bulbo, e o cerebelo surge como uma projeção dessa estrutura, em formato plano, com três camadas. Em geral, o encéfalo de Tropidurus torquatus se assemelha ao de outros lagartos, com suas próprias adaptações.

Competition between animals for limited resources often involves signaling to establish ownership or dominance. In some species, the defended resource relates to suitable thermal conditions and refuge from predators. This is particularly true of burrow-dwelling lizards such as the Qinghai toad-headed agama (Phrynocephalus vlangalii), which are found on the Tibetan plateau of western China. Male and female lizards occupy separate burrows, which are vital for anti-predator behaviour during warmer months when lizards are active and, crucially, provide shelter from harsh winter conditions. These lizards are readily observed signaling by means of tail displays on the sand dunes they inhabit. Given the selective pressure to hold such a resource, both males and females should exhibit territorial behaviour and we considered this study system to examine in detail how social context influences motion based territorial signaling. We confirmed that territorial signaling was used by both sexes and by adopting a novel strategy that permitted 3D reconstruction of tail displays, we identified significant variation due to social context. However, signal structure was not related to lizard morphology. Clearly, the burrow is a highly valued resource and we suggest that additional variation in signaling behaviour might be mediated by resource quality.

Climate-modulated parasitism is driven by a range of factors, yet the spatial and temporal variability of this relationship has received scant attention in wild vertebrate hosts. Moreover, most prior studies overlooked the intraspecific differences across host morphotypes, which impedes a full understanding of the climate-parasitism relationship. In the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara), females exhibit three colour morphs: yellow (Y-females), orange (O-females), and mixed (mixture of yellow and orange, M-females). Zootoca vivipara is also infested with an ectoparasite (Ophionyssus mites). We therefore used this model system to examine the intraspecific response of hosts to parasitism under climate change. We found infestation probability to differ across colour morphs at both spatial (10 sites) and temporal (20 years) scales: M-females had lower parasite infestations than Y- and O-females at lower temperatures, but became more susceptible to parasites as temperature increased. The advantage of M-females at low temperatures was counterbalanced by their higher mortality rates thereafter, which suggests a morph-dependent trade-off between resistance to parasites and host survival. Furthermore, significant interactions between colour morphs and temperature indicate that the relationship between parasite infestations and climate warming was contingent on host morphotypes. Parasite infestations increased with temperature for most morphs, but displayed morph-specific rates. Finally, infested M-females had higher reductions in survival rates than infested Y- or O-females, which implies a potential loss of intraspecific diversity within populations as parasitism and temperatures rise. Overall, we found parasitism increases with warming temperatures, but this relationship is modulated by host morphotypes and an interaction with temperature. We suggest that epidemiological models incorporate intraspecific diversity within species for better understanding the dynamics of wildlife diseases under climate warming.

To understand the spread of parasite and the persistence of infection in an ecological environment, it is essential to investigate their transmission possibilities. Vertical transmission of pathogens from mother to offspring is a fundamental opportunity, notwithstanding a relatively under-researched topic, especially in wildlife animals. We studied whether there is vertical transmission of a haemogregarinid blood parasite of Iberian green lizard (Lacerta schreiberi). To study infection of mothers, embryos and freshly hatched juveniles, their blood smears and molecular analyses of their tail tissue were used. Examining blood smears, seventy-one percent of females were found to be infected, but molecular analyses of all mothers showed positive results for the blood parasite. Based on molecular data the parasite was identified as a Karyolysus species. In contrast, no parasite was found in the blood smears of the freshly hatched juveniles, and we could not detect Karyolysus in the embryos or tail tissue of offspring using molecular methods either. Based on our results, vertical transmission of Karyolysus blood parasites is unlikely in the Iberian green lizard., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • Molecular analyses showed a Karyolysus species infects Lacerta schreiberi. • All females-mothers but none of their embryos and offspring were infected. • Vertical transmission of Karyolysus genus is unlikely in the Iberian green lizard.

Running speed and camouflage are associated with the foraging and anti‐predator abilities of animals. The toad‐headed lizard, Phrynocephalus versicolor, has evolved a darker dorsal color in melanistic habitats and maintained a lighter color in adjacent, non‐melanistic habitats. We test the hypothesis that lizards have weaker running speed on well‐matching backgrounds than on less matching backgrounds. We used lizard models to compare the predation pressure, while the running speed of dark and light lizards were compared in field tunnels using a video recording method. Our results indicated that both the dark lizards in melanistic Heishankou (HSK) and the light lizards in non‐melanistic Guazhou (GZ) face lower predation pressure than potential color‐background unmatched lizards. The light lizards have a potentially higher running speed than darker lizards in melanistic habitats, which implies that substrate color matching populations with benefits of camouflage might have lower anti‐predation pressure, and the costs of investment in melanin production may reduce running capacity., The lizards with substrate matching dorsal color have lower predation pressure than substrate unmatched lizards. The dark lizards with benefits of camouflage lowed the running speed in melanistic habitat.

An ecological issue can best be studied by gathering original data that are specifically targeted for that issue. But ascertaining-a priori-whether a novel issue will be worth exploring can be problematic without background data. However, an issue's potential merit can sometimes be evaluated by repurposing legacy or other data that had been gathered for unrelated purposes but that are nonetheless relevant. Our present project was initially motivated by an ecological trade-off-proposed eight decades ago-involving the depth at which desert reptiles overwintered. To address those and related issues, we repurposed our five-decades-old natural history data for 18 species of Kgalagadi lizards and then explored the seasonal ecology of these lizards, emphasizing winter. Our data were not gathered for a study of seasonal ecology but nonetheless inform diverse seasonal patterns for a major community of lizards. However, repurposed data (whether recent or legacy) present challenges and ambiguities, and we suggest targeted, next-step studies of seasonal ecology that can circumvent limitations and ambiguities.

Holcosus gaigeae es una lagartija de tamaño pequeño y cuerpo moderadamente robusto que tiene una distribución restringida a la porción Mexicana de la Península de Yucatán. La información existente acerca de su ecología e historia natural es limitada. En este escrito se presentan observaciones de depredación, dieta y reproducción de H. gaigeae en diferentes porciones de los estados de Yucatán y Campeche, en México, las cuales aportan nueva información acerca de los aspectos ecológicos de esta especie.

Males of several bird species across diverse orders and families court females and mate with them offering so-called nuptial gifts, mostly food. This subject has been scarcely studied in the Neotropical avifauna, and no research has focused on a given family or order. We present herein an outline on nuptial gifts among Brazilian cuckoo species, based on databases from citizen science, gathered by birdwatchers. In the databases, we obtained 29 photographic records of seven cuckoo species mating with a gift. In the field, we recorded an unsuccessful attempt at mating with the offer of a small lizard. Five species offered invertebrates (insects), and three offered vertebrates (frogs and lizards). Vertebrates were recorded for two Crotophaginae cuckoos (two times each), but only a single recent record for a Cuculinae species was obtained with this nuptial gift type. Most records of nuptial gifts are of two common and widespread species, whereas those for the remaining five species are scarce. We presume that the species that offered vertebrates as a nuptial gift optimized the female’s breeding condition. We suggest that additional citizen science effort by birders, as well as natural history-oriented studies by professionals, will increase our knowledge about nuptial gifts among Neotropical Cuculiformes. This reasoning is suitable for other bird orders and/or families.

Physiology is crucial for the survival of invasive species in new environments. Yet, new climatic conditions and the limited genetic variation found within many invasive populations may influence physiological responses to new environmental conditions. Here, we studied the case of the delicate skinks (Lampropholis delicata) invading Lord Howe Island (LHI), Australia. On LHI, the climate is different from the mainland source of the skinks, and independent introduction events generated invasive populations with distinct genetic backgrounds. To understand how climate and genetic background may shape physiological responses along biological invasions, we compared the physiological traits of a source and two invasive (single-haplotype and multi-haplotype) populations of the delicate skink. For each population, we quantified physiological traits related to metabolism, sprint speed, and thermal physiology. We found that, for most physiological traits analysed, population history did not influence the ecophysiology of delicate skinks. However, invasive populations showed higher maximum speed than the source population, which indicates that locomotor performance might be a trait under selection during biological invasions. As well, the invasive population with a single haplotype was less cold-tolerant than the multi-haplotype and source populations. Our results suggest that limited genetic variability and climate may influence physiological responses of invasive organisms in novel environments. Incorporating the interplay between genetic and physiological responses into models predicting species invasions can result in more accurate understanding of the potential habitats those species can occupy.

Climate change represents a real threat to biodiversity conservation worldwide. Although the effects on several species of conservation priority are known, comprehensive information about the impact of climate change on reptile populations is lacking. In the present study, we analyze outcomes on the potential distribution of the black beaded lizard (Heloderma alvarezi Bogert & Martin del Campo, 1956) under global warming scenarios. Its potential distribution, at present and in projections for the years 2050 and 2070, under both optimistic and pessimistic climate change forecasts, were computed using current data records and seven bioclimatic variables. General results predict a shift in the future potential distribution of H. alvarezi due to temperature increase. The optimistic scenario (4.5 W/m2) for 2070 suggests an enlargement in the species’ distribution as a response to the availability of new areas of suitable habitat. On the contrary, the worst-case scenario (7 W/m2) shows a distribution decrease by 65%. Moreover, the range distribution of H. alvarezi is directly related to the human footprint, which consequently could magnify negative outcomes for this species. Our research elucidates the importance of conservation strategies to prevent the extinction of the black beaded lizard, especially considering that this species is highly threatened by aversive hunting.

Aim . Comparison of two methods (genetic and morphological) for assessing the polymorphism of populations of the eastern sand lizard ( Lacerta agilis exigua ) in two ecologically different localities. Material and Methods . For this, we used the method of polylocus genotyping of genomic DNA regions flanked by inverted repeats of microsatellites and fragments of long terminal repeats of endogenous retroviruses, as well as the assessment of a number of phenotypic characteristics. The material was lizards (a total of 55 adults) caught in two localities: in the Novonikolaevsky District of the Volgograd Region and in the vicinity of the Strizhament mountain, Stavropol Territory. Results . Of the two methods for assessing the state of the population genetic structure of the eager lizard, the most informative for identifying interpopulation and sex differences was a comparative analysis of the spectra obtained using microsatellite sequences and sites of endogenous retroviruses. This method made it possible to identify the most polymorphic DNA markers, which make it possible to obtain the most informative spectra in terms of the number of loci and polymorphism necessary for describing the genetic structures and their dynamics in the eastern darting lizard with high resolution. Conclusion . The studies carried out allowed us to identify the most informative indicators for describing population structures and their dynamics in the eastern darting lizard. For the first time, data were obtained indicating that the greatest contribution to interpopulation differentiation in different localities of capture is made by the variability of males compared to females.

Questing behavior and host associations of immature blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, from the southeastern United States are known to differ from those in the north. To elucidate these relationships we describe host associations of larval and nymphal I. scapularis from 8 lizard species sampled from 5 sites in the southeastern U.S. Larvae and nymphs attached in greater numbers to larger lizards than to smaller lizards, with differential levels of attachment to different lizard species. Blacklegged ticks are generally attached to skinks of the genus Plestiodon in greater numbers per unit lizard weight than to anoles (Anolis) or fence lizards (Sceloporus). The broad-headed skink, Plestiodon laticeps (Schneider), was a particularly important host for immature I. scapularis in our study and in several previous studies of tick–host associations in the southeast. Blacklegged ticks show selective attachment to Plestiodon lizard hosts in the southeast, but whether this results from behavioral host preferences or from ecological factors such as timing or microhabitat distributions of tick questing and host activity remains to be determined.

During epidermal differentiation in the scales of lizards and snakes, from the basal layer beta- and later alpha-keratinocytes are generated to form beta-and alpha-corneous layers. In the lizard Anolis carolinensis, minor proteins derived from the EDC (Epidermal Differentiation Complex) are added to the main constituent proteins, IFKs (Intermediate Filament Keratins) and CBPs (Corneous Beta Proteins, formerly indicated as beta keratins). One of these proteins that previous studies showed to be exclusively expressed in the skin, EDWM (EDC protein containing high GSRC amino acids) is rich in cysteine and arginine, amino acids that form numerous –S–S– and electro-static chemical bonds in the corneous material. Light and electron microscopy immunolbeling for EDWM show a diffuse localization in differentiating beta-cells and in some alpha-cells, in particular those of the clear-layer, involved in epidermal shedding. The study suggests that EDWM may function as a matrix protein that binds to IFKs and CBPs, contributing to the formation of the specific corneous material present in beta- and alpha-corneous layers. In particular, its higher immunolocalization in the maturing clear layer indicates that this protein is important for its differentiation and epidermal shedding in A. carolinensis and likely also in other lepidosaurian reptiles.

As the only viviparous reptile in China that has both temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and genetic-dependent sex determination (GSD) mechanisms, Eremias multiocellata is considered as an ideal species for studying the sex determination mechanism in viviparous lizards. However, studies on embryonic stage of viviparous lizards and morphological characteristics of each stage are limited. In the present study, the embryonic development process of E. multiocellata is divided into 15 stages (stages 28–42) according to the morphology of embryos. Embryos sizes are measured and continuous dynamic variation of some key features, including limbs, genitals, eyes, pigments, and brain scales are color imaged by a stereoscopic microscope. Furthermore, based on these morphological characteristics, we compare the similarities and differences in the embryonic development of E. multiocellata with other squamate species. Our results not only identified the staging table of E. multiocellata with continuous changes of external morphological characteristics but also developed a staging scheme for an important model species that provides a necessary foundation for study of sex determination in a viviparous lizard.

Global climate change is already contributing to the extirpation of numerous species worldwide, and sensitive species will continue to face challenges associated with rising temperatures throughout this century and beyond. It is especially important to evaluate the thermal ecology of endangered ectotherm species now so that mitigation measures can be taken as early as possible. A recent study of the thermal ecology of the federally endangered Blunt‐nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia sila) suggested that they face major activity restrictions due to thermal constraints in their desert habitat, but that large shade‐providing shrubs act as thermal buffers to allow them to maintain surface activity without overheating. We replicated this study and also included a population of G. sila with no access to large shrubs to facilitate comparison of the thermal ecology of G. sila populations in shrubless and shrubbed sites. We found that G. sila without access to shrubs spent more time sheltering inside rodent burrows than lizards with access to shrubs, especially during the hot summer months. Lizards from a shrubbed site had higher midday body temperatures and therefore poorer thermoregulatory accuracy than G. sila from a shrubless site, suggesting that greater surface activity may represent a thermoregulatory trade‐off for G. sila. Lizards at both sites are currently constrained from using open, sunny microhabitats for much of the day during their short active seasons, and our projections suggest that climate change will exacerbate these restrictions and force G. sila to use rodent burrows for shelter even more than they do now, especially at sites without access to shrubs. The continued management of shrubs and of burrowing rodents at G. sila sites is therefore essential to the survival of this endangered species., The Blunt‐Nosed Leopard Lizard is a federally endangered ectotherm adapted to California's San Joaquin Desert ecosystem. We compared a population of lizards who had access to shrubs to a population of lizards who had no access to shrubs in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, and found that lizards who do not have access to shrubs thermoregulated more accurately (unexpected), with a trade‐off of being forced underground into cooler burrows for more of the day compared with lizards who had access to shrubs.

Animals inhabiting arid environments use a variety of behavioural and physiological strategies to balance their water and salt budgets. We studied the effects of dehydration and salt loading on osmoregulatory capacities in a large herbivorous desert lizard, the Moroccan Spiny-tailed lizard Uromastyx nigriventris, the family Agamidae. These lizards select plants with a high K+ to Na+ ratio of 15 to 20, and like other herbivorous lizards, effectively eliminate the extra electrolyte load, mainly via a pair of active nasal salt glands, which exude the extra ions from blood. Here we present results of a series of laboratory experiments, which tested a five-week food and water deprivation and the excretory response of nasal salt glands, during a short period of five days, following salt loading by two separated injections of KCl or NaCl at a 5-day interval (4th and 9th days). During food-water deprivation, hypohydrated lizards lost 32% of their initial body mass with a substantial decrease of their Body Condition Index and the tail volume as an index of energy (fat and then potential metabolic water) storage. Plasma osmolality significantly increased by 20%. There were also significantly increased plasma sodium, chloride, and total protein concentrations. On the other hand, there was no significant decrease in the plasma glucose level. Most of the salt loaded lizards secreted far more K+ than Na+ via the nasal glands, even after NaCl loading. The K+/Na+ ratio decreased only after two to three repetitive NaCl injections but insufficient Na+ was eliminated. Two successive KCl injections were successfully eliminated, but daily natural average K+ administration induced progressive hyperkaliemia. These experimental data agreed with previous observations showing variations of plasma Na+ and K+ concentrations in free-living lizards. The nasal gland constitutes the main route of Cl− excretion but the Cl−/(Na+ + K+) ratio may vary according to observations in other herbivorous species.

Abstract The Lindholm rock lizard, Darevskia lindholmi, is the only member of the genus Darevskia whose range is restricted solely to Europe, representing a local endemism found only in the Crimean Mountains. In our study, we investigated the cytochrome b gene (mtDNA) of 101 D. lindholmi sequences from 65 Crimean localities, representing its entire range. We found that D. lindholmi is highly genetically structured, and its range is divided into populations belonging to three mitochondrial lineages. The Lindholm rock lizard populations inhabiting the middle part of the Crimean Mountains (further referred to as the Central lineage) are sharply differentiated from the other two lineages (the Common and the Southwestern lineages), which are present in most of the species range. The genetic distance between the Central lineage and the other two taken together is 4.6%, according to our results, suggesting that the divergence occurred during the Early Pleistocene. The narrowly distributed Southwestern lineage and the widespread Common lineage, on the other hand, are differentiated by 1%. Field observations on the representatives of the main evolutionary groups show that their ecology is also different: the Central lineage is a mesophilic and cold-resistant form, while the other two closely related lineages are more xerophilic and thermophilic. Results of the potential ranges modeling and ecological niche analysis confirm that the genetic lineages occupy different niches of the Crimea. Furthermore, the area of inhabitation of the Central lineage splits the western and eastern parts of the Common lineage range, while the Southwestern lineage is restricted along the coast of the southwestern coast of the peninsula. The long-term co-existence of deeply divergent sister mitochondrial lineages in a relatively small (circa 7,000 km2) isolated mountain system serves as a mesocosm for understanding the speciation process. Our data suggest that the Central lineage warrants further taxonomic investigation.

Though biological invasions constitute one of the biggest threats for global biodiversity, our understanding of the mechanisms that enable invasive species to outperform native species is still limited, especially, in terms of behavior. Most available studies have examined behavioral traits which favor invasive species on the later stages of invasion, however, our knowledge on earlier stages, namely, when alien species face novel environments and must exploit new resources, remains obscure. Here, we focus on one crucial behavioral trait, finding food. The Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) has been widely introduced and established viable populations in S. Europe and N. America. We examined whether P. siculus has enhanced exploratory behavior and abilities to find food compared to two native congeneric species with which it may come in contact in the near future, an insular endemic (P. milensis) and a widely distributed lizard (P. erhardii). We performed a Y-maze experiment, in which we varied arm markings in a standard way to prevent learning. Podarcis siculus was more efficient than its congenerics in finding and consuming food. This exploitative superiority was persistent, more frequent and repetitive. Interesting behavioral differences were also detected within the native species. Some P. milensis individuals showed no interest in exploring the maze, while few P. erhardii individuals remained rather indifferent to food even after detecting it. Our results suggest that the invasive P. siculus displays behavioral traits that could provide better opportunities for survival in the new environment and thus facilitate establishment even in the presence of congenerics. This provides further support to the idea that behavior plays a crucial role in animal invasions.

A body plan (bauplan) is a suite of morphological characters shared by phylogenetically related animals at some point during their development. Despite its value, the bauplan concept is still rarely employed to characterize functional groups in community ecology. Here, we examine habitat use and spatio-temporal activity correlates of an entire seven-species community of lizards with different bauplans. The study was carried out in three locations in central Italy, encompassing a complex landscape with a patchy mosaic of a wide variety of habitats and microclimates. We tested four hypotheses regarding niche breadth, habitat use, and activity patterns. The first hypothesis, niche complementarity, in which species with similar body shapes should non-randomly partition available habitats, was not supported. By contrast, the hypotheses that larger bodied species should have a wider niche breadth, that slower species should inhabit habitat types of higher cover, and species inhabiting open sunny habitats should exhibit more seasonally variable activity patterns, were all supported by the data. Sympatric lizard communities in our study area were clearly organized by autecological constraints and eco-physiological attributes.

Australian lizards are a diverse group distributed across the continent and inhabiting a wide range of environments. Together, they exhibit a remarkable diversity of reproductive morphologies, physiologies, and behaviours that is broadly representative of vertebrates in general. Many reproductive traits exhibited by Australian lizards have evolved independently in multiple lizard lineages, including sociality, complex signalling and mating systems, viviparity, and temperature-dependent sex determination. Australian lizards are thus outstanding model organisms for testing hypotheses about how reproductive traits function and evolve, and they provide an important basis of comparison with other animals that exhibit similar traits. We review how research on Australian lizard reproduction has contributed to answering broader evolutionary and ecological questions that apply to animals in general. We focus on reproductive traits, processes, and strategies that are important areas of current research, including behaviours and signalling involved in courtship; mechanisms involved in mating, egg production, and sperm competition; nesting and gestation; sex determination; and finally, birth in viviparous species. We use our review to identify important questions that emerge from an understanding of this body of research when considered holistically. Finally, we identify additional research questions within each topic that Australian lizards are well suited for reproductive biologists to address.

Mediterranean islands have a high diversity of squamates, although they are unevenly distributed. This variability in the composition of the reptile assemblages across islands may have been influenced by differences in the colonization abilities of these species. To evaluate the dispersal capacities of squamate species, we modeled their sea routes using cost surface models. We estimated the effects of some life‐history traits and the phylogenetic signal in the characteristics of the modeled dispersal paths. We hypothesized that a significant phylogenetic signal should be present if the dispersal ability is enhanced by traits shared among evolutionarily related species. The results showed that no phylogenetic signal was present in the characteristics of the dispersal paths (i.e., in the distance traveled/bypassed sea depth). Thus, no superior island‐colonizer lineages were detected in Mediterranean Squamata. However, our analyses also revealed that small‐sized lizards were superior to other groups of squamates at dispersing over long distances on the sea., The dispersal of reptiles throughout the Mediterranean islands lacks a phylogenetic structure. Only small lizards appear to be better dispersers, but this trait evolved independently in several unrelated lineages.

Background and Aim: The high prevalence of sparganosis has been reported globally, especially in Asian countries where the majority of individuals consume raw meat from wild-caught reptiles. In Indonesia, similar cases regarding the high prevalence of sparganosis were recorded from wild reptiles such as snakes that utilized for culinary purposes, whereas, there are no data regarding other species such as water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator), which also provided as daily culinary with a high number of trades. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prevalence of sparganosis in water monitor lizard (V. salvator), which is frequently utilized as culinary products in East Java Province, Indonesia. Materials and Methods: A total of 313 living wild-caught and captive-bred Asian water monitor lizards were collected from the reptile markets and breeders. All samples were euthanized and observed for the presence of plerocercoid. Identification of the plerocercoid as larval infective stage was made using carmine staining method. Results: The total prevalence of sparganosis was recorded at 69.64%. A total of 393 plerocercoids were collected in which divided 280 (71.24%) infecting muscles and 113 (28.75%) located in subcutaneous tissues. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this study not only recorded as the first evidence but also confirms the role of monitor lizards as sparganosis transmitters in Asia and reveals additional routes of sparganosis transmission in Indonesian reptiles. Local conservation laws should be strengthened to effectively control or ban wildlife trade in traditional markets. Moreover, public awareness regarding sparganosis as a neglected zoonotic disease should be applied to prevent disease transmission in Indonesia.

Trade-offs between reproduction and survival are central to life-history theory and are expected to shape patterns of phenotypic selection, but the ecological factors structuring these trade-offs and resultant patterns of selection are generally unknown. We manipulated reproductive investment and predation regime in island populations of brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) to test (1) whether previously documented increases in the survival of experimentally non-reproductive females (OVX = ovariectomy) reflect the greater susceptibility of reproductive females (SHAM = control) to predation and (2) whether phenotypic selection differs as a function of reproductive investment and predation regime. OVX females exceeded SHAM controls in growth, mass gain and body condition, indicating pronounced energetic costs of reproduction. Although mortality was greatest in the presence of bird and snake predators, differences in survival between OVX and SHAM were unrelated to predation regime, as were patterns of natural selection on body size. Instead, we found that body condition at the conclusion of the experiment differed significantly across populations, suggesting that local environments varied in their ability to support mass gain and positive energy balance. As mean body condition improved across populations, the magnitude of the survival cost of reproduction increased, linear selection on body size shifted from positive to negative, and quadratic selection shifted from stabilizing to weakly disruptive. Our results suggest that reproductive trade-offs and patterns of phenotypic selection in female brown anoles are more sensitive to inferred variation in environmental quality than to experimentally induced variation in predation.

Within populations, individuals often differ consistently in their average level of behavior (i.e., animal personality), as well as their response to environmental change (i.e., behavioral plasticity). Thus, changes in environmental conditions might be expected to mediate the structure of animal personality traits. However, it is currently not well understood how personality traits change in response to environmental conditions, and whether this effect is consistent across multiple populations within the same species. Accordingly, we investigated variation in personality traits across two ecological contexts in the invasive delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata). Specifically, lizards from three different populations were repeatedly measured for individual activity in group behavioral assays under differing levels of food availability. We found that environmental context had a clear effect on the structure of lizard personality, where activity rates were not repeatable in the absence of food, but were repeatable in the presence of food resources. The difference in repeatability of activity rates across contexts appeared to be largely driven by an increase in among-individual variance when tested in the presence of food resources. However, this was only true for one of the populations tested, with food context having no effect on the expression of personality traits in the other two populations. Our results highlight the important role of environmental context in mediating the structure of animal personality traits and suggest that this effect may vary among populations.

A list of amphibian and reptile species that occur in open and forested areas of the Atlantic Forest in the municipality of Cruz das Almas, in the Recôncavo Baiano, eastern Brazil is presented. Field sampling occurred between January 2015 to March 2019, totalling 117 samples distributed in three areas: Parque Florestal Mata de Cazuzinha, Mata da Cascalheira, and Riacho do Machado. A total of 1,848 individuals of 69 species (31 anurans, 14 lizards, 19 snakes, two amphisbaenians, and three testudines) was recorded. Additionally, one individual of Ophiodes striatus was found in Mata da Cascalheira after the end of sampling, totalling 15 lizard species and 70 herpetofaunal species. The prevalence of open-area species and the presence of Phyllopezus lutzae, Diploglossus lessonae, and Dryadosaura nordestina in interior forest patches are discussed. Additionally, a new record of the invasive terrapin Trachemys dorbigni in the State of Bahia is reported.

We document the first verifiable records of Heloderma alvarezi (Bogert & del Campo, 1956) in southeastern Guerrero, Mexico. We recorded seven individuals of H. alvarezi near the village of Cihuapoloya, municipality of Cuautepec. These are the westernmost records of the species, extending its distribution by approximately 149 km from the nearest previously known occurrences in Oaxaca. With these records, the number of reptile species in Guerrero increases to 182.

We present the first record of Phyllopezus pollicaris from the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil, at the Atlantic Forest rock outcrops of the Pedra do Elefante – an inselberg area located at the municipality of Nova Venécia. We discuss the first state record for the genus, the geographic distribution range for this species, and the records outside the seasonally dry forest biomes, in which the species rarely occurs.

Previous cytological studies on the transected lumbar spinal cord of lizards have shown the presence of differentiating glial cells, few neurons and axons in the bridge region between the proximal and distal stumps of the spinal cord in some cases. A limited number of axons (20–50) can cross the bridge and re-connect the caudal stump of the spinal cord with small neurons located in the rostral stump of the spinal cord. This axonal regeneration appears to be related to the recovery of hind-limb movements after initial paralysis. The present study extends previous studies and shows that after transection of the lumbar spinal cord in lizards, a glial-connective tissue bridge that reconnects the rostral and caudal stumps of the interrupted spinal cord is formed at 11–34 days post-injury. Following an initial paralysis some recovery of hindlimb movements occurs within 1–3 months post-injury. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis for a growth associated protein 43 (GAP-43) of 48–50 kDa shows that sparse GAP-43 positive axons are present in the proximal stump of the spinal cord but their number decreased in the bridge at 11–34 days post-transection. Few immunolabeled axons with a neurofilament protein of 200–220 kDa were seen in the bridge at 11–22 days post-transection but their number increased at 34 days and 3 months post-amputation in lizards that have recovered some hindlimb movements. Numerous neurons in the rostral and caudal stumps of the spinal cord were also labeled for GAP43, a cytoplasmic protein that is trans-located into their axonal growth cones. This indicates that GAP-43 biosynthesis is related to axonal regeneration and sprouting from neurons that were damaged by the transection. Taken together, previous studies that utilized tract-tracing technique to label the present observations confirm that a limited axonal re-connection of the transected spinal cord occurs 1–3 months post-injury in lizards. The few regenerating-sprouting axons within the bridge reconnect the caudal with the rostral stumps of the spinal cord, and likely contribute to activate the neural circuits that sustain the limited but important recovery of hind-limb movements after initial paralysis. The surgical procedures utilized in the study followed the regulations on animal care and experimental procedures under the Italian Guidelines (art. 5, DL 116/92).