Variation in colour patterning is prevalent among and within species. A number of theories have been proposed in explaining its evolution. Because solar radiation interacts with the pigmentation of the integument causing light to either be reflected or absorbed into the body, thermoregulation has been considered to be a primary selective agent, particularly among ectotherms. Accordingly, the colour-mediated thermoregulatory hypothesis states that darker individuals will heat faster and reach higher thermal equilibria while paler individuals will have the opposite traits. It was further predicted that dark colouration would promote slower cooling rates and higher thermal performance temperatures. To test these hypotheses we quantified the reflectance, selected body temperatures, performance optima, as well as heating and cooling rates of an ectothermic vertebrate, Lampropholis delicata. Our results indicated that colour had no influence on thermal physiology, as all thermal traits were uncorrelated with reflectance. We suggest that crypsis may instead be the stronger selective agent as it may have a more direct impact on fitness. Our study has improved our knowledge of the functional differences among individuals with different colour patterns, and the evolutionary significance of morphological variation within species.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.06.013 | DOI Listing |
J Anim Ecol
January 2025
Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Research Highlight: Edwards, O. M., Zhai, L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsect Sci
January 2025
EDYSAN, Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés, UMR 7058 CNRS, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France.
Polyphagous insect species develop using multiple host plants. Often considered beneficial, polyphagy can also be costly as host nutritional quality may vary. Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is an invasive species that can develop on numerous fruit species over the annual cycle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Exp Biol
January 2025
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA.
One notable consequence of climate change is an increase in the frequency, scale and severity of heat waves. Heat waves in terrestrial habitats (atmospheric heat waves, AHW) and marine habitats (marine heat waves, MHW) have received considerable attention as environmental forces that impact organisms, populations and whole ecosystems. Only one ecosystem, the intertidal zone, experiences both MHWs and AHWs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Adv
January 2025
Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Coral persistence in the Anthropocene depends on interactions among holobiont partners (coral animals and microbial symbionts) and their environment. Cryptic coral lineages-genetically distinct yet morphologically similar groups-are critically important as they often exhibit functional diversity relevant to thermal tolerance. In addition, environmental parameters such as thermal variability may promote tolerance, but how variability interacts with holobiont partners to shape responses to thermal challenge remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Biol Sci
January 2025
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, 2200 Osborn Drive, Ames, IA 50010, USA.
Indices of climate vulnerability are used to predict species' vulnerability to climate change based on intrinsic physiological traits, such as thermal tolerance, thermal sensitivity and thermal acclimation, but rarely is the consistency among indices evaluated simultaneously. We compared the thermal physiology of queen bumblebees between a species experiencing local declines () and a species exhibiting continent-wide increases (). We conducted a multi-week acclimation experiment under simulated climate warming to measure critical thermal maximum (CT), critical thermal minimum (CT), the thermal sensitivity of metabolic rate and water loss rate and acclimation in each of these traits.
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