Tail loss and thermoregulation in the common lizard Zootoca vivipara.
Tail autotomy in lizards is an adaptive strategy that has evolved to reduce the risk of predation. Since tail loss reduces body mass and moving ability-which in turn are expected to influence thermal balance-there is potential for a trade-off between tail autotomy and thermoregulation. To test this hypothesis, we studied a common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) population at high latitude, inhabiting a high-cost thermal environment. Z. vivipara is a small, non-territorial lizard known as a very accurate thermoregulator. We made two predictions: (1) the reduced body weight due to tail loss results in faster heating rate (a benefit), and (2) the reduction in locomotor ability after tail loss induces a shift to the use of thermally poorer microhabitats (a cost), thus decreasing the field body temperatures of active lizards. We did not find any effect of tail loss on heating rate in laboratory experiments conducted under different thermal conditions. Likewise, no significant relationship between tail condition and field body temperatures, or between tail condition and thermal microhabitat use, were detected. Thus, our results suggest that tail autotomy does not influence the accuracy of thermoregulation in small-bodied lizards.
Herczeg
Gábor
G
Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary. gherc@freemail.hu
Kovács
Tibor
T
Tóth
Tamás
T
Török
János
J
Korsós
Zoltán
Z
Merilä
Juha
J
D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D001831:Body Temperature; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D017753:Ecosystem; D008116:Lizards / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D013623:Tail
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