The effect of skin reflectance on thermal traits in a small heliothermic ectotherm.

J Therm Biol

School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. Electronic address:

Published: August 2016

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.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.06.013DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

thermal traits
8
selective agent
8
individuals will
8
higher thermal
8
cooling rates
8
thermal
5
skin reflectance
4
reflectance thermal
4
traits small
4
small heliothermic
4

Similar Publications

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 PDF

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 PDF

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 PDF

Lack of thermal acclimation in multiple indices of climate vulnerability in bumblebees.

Proc 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.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!