Climate change increasingly influences the loss of biodiversity, especially in ectothermic organisms, which depend on environmental temperatures to obtain heat and regulate their life cycle. Studies that aim to understand the impact of temperature variation are important to better understand the possible impacts generated on the homeostasis of ectothermic organisms. Our objective was to characterize the responses of juvenile Liolaemus arambarensis lizards to abrupt changes in temperature, quantifying markers of body condition, intermediary and hormonal metabolism and oxidative balance. We collected 45 juvenile individuals of L. arambarensis (winter: 20 and summer: 25) in Barra do Ribeiro, Brazil. We transported the animals to the laboratory, where they were acclimatized for five days at a temperature of 20 °C, then divided and exposed to temperatures of 10 °C, 20 °C, 30 °C and 40 °C for 24 h. After exposure, the animals were euthanized and the brain, caudal muscle, thigh, and liver tissues were extracted for quantification of biomarkers of metabolism (glycogen and total proteins) and oxidative balance (acetylcholinesterase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione-S-transferase and lipoperoxidation) and plasma for corticosterone quantification. The results show that L. arambarensis is susceptible to sudden temperature variations, where higher temperatures caused greater activity of antioxidant enzymes, increased lipoperoxidation and higher plasma levels of corticosterone in animals eliminated in winter. The present study demonstrated that abrupt changes in temperature could significantly modify the homeostatic mechanisms of animals, which could lead to oxidative stress and a potential trade-off between survival and growth/reproduction. In this context, the organism mobilizes energy resources for survival, with possible damage to growth and reproduction. Demonstrate that a change in temperature can be a potential factor in extinction for a species given the profile of global climate change.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111577 | DOI Listing |
Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol
April 2024
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Departamento de Zoologia, Laboratório de Herpetologia, Bento Gonçalves Avenue, 9500 Pd. 43435, Block IV, class 102, Campus do Vale, 91510-000, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
PLoS One
March 2020
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Alterations in thermal niches have been widely associated with the Anthropocene erosion of reptiles' diversity. They entail potential physiological constraints for organisms' performance, which can lead to activity restrictions and impact fitness and demography. Reptiles are ectotherms which rely on seasonal periodicity to maximize the performance of biological functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBraz J Biol
May 2014
Laboratório de Ecologia de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia Roberto de A. Gomes, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro ? UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
In this study we attempted to access further information on the geographical distribution of the endangered lizard Liolaemus lutzae, estimating its potential distribution through the maximum entropy algorithm. For this purpose, we related its points of occurrence with matrices of environmental variables. After examining the correlation between environmental matrices, we selected 10 for model construction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenet Mol Biol
January 2012
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
In reptiles, dorsal body darkness often varies with substrate color or temperature environment, and is generally presumed to be an adaptation for crypsis or thermoregulation. However, the genetic basis of pigmentation is poorly known in this group. In this study we analyzed the coding region of the melanocortin-1-receptor (MC1R) gene, and therefore its role underlying the dorsal color variation in two sympatric species of sand lizards (Liolaemus) that inhabit the southeastern coast of South America: L.
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