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Water deprivation compromises maternal physiology and reproductive success in a cold and wet adapted snake Vipera berus
- Source :
- Conservation Physiology, Conservation Physiology, 2021, 9 (1), pp.1-14. ⟨10.1093/conphys/coab071⟩, Conservation Physiology, Oxford University Press, 2021, 9 (1), pp.1-14. ⟨10.1093/conphys/coab071⟩, Conservation Physiology, Oxford University Press, 2021, 9 (1), pp.coab071. ⟨10.1093/conphys/coab071⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- HAL CCSD, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Droughts are becoming more intense and frequent with climate change. These extreme weather events can lead to mass mortality and reproduction failure, and therefore cause population declines. Understanding how the reproductive physiology of organisms is affected by water shortages will help clarify whether females can adjust their reproductive strategy to dry conditions or may fail to reproduce and survive. In this study, we investigated the consequences of a short period of water deprivation (2 weeks) during early pregnancy on the physiology and behaviour of a cold- and wet-adapted ectotherm (Vipera berus). We also examined water allocation to developing embryos and embryonic survival. Water-deprived females exhibited significant dehydration, physiological stress and loss of muscle mass. These effects of water deprivation on water balance and muscle loss were correlated with the number of developing embryos. While water-deprived females maintained water transfer to embryos at the expense of their own maintenance, water deprivation also led to embryonic mortality. Overall, water deprivation amplifies the reproductive costs of water allocation to support embryonic development. The deleterious impacts of water deprivation on female current reproductive performance and on potential survival and future reproduction could lead to severe population declines in this species.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Vipera berus
Physiology
media_common.quotation_subject
fecundity
Population
Zoology
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Trade-off
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Maternal Physiology
reproduction
03 medical and health sciences
Water balance
water deprivation
education
030304 developmental biology
Nature and Landscape Conservation
media_common
trade-off
0303 health sciences
education.field_of_study
biology
Reproductive success
Dehydration
Ecological Modeling
biology.organism_classification
6. Clean water
13. Climate action
Ectotherm
[SDE]Environmental Sciences
Reproduction
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20511434
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Conservation Physiology, Conservation Physiology, 2021, 9 (1), pp.1-14. ⟨10.1093/conphys/coab071⟩, Conservation Physiology, Oxford University Press, 2021, 9 (1), pp.1-14. ⟨10.1093/conphys/coab071⟩, Conservation Physiology, Oxford University Press, 2021, 9 (1), pp.coab071. ⟨10.1093/conphys/coab071⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....272fc445d3eb809df0acd4d8960f9db1
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coab071⟩