title: Investigating kleptothermy: a reptile-seabird association with thermal benefits.
abstract: Studies on interspecific interactions between vertebrates based on thermal benefits are poorly represented in the literature. Ecologists know little about a category of thermoregulation termed kleptothermy. We provide evidence that a close association between a medium-sized reptile (tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus) and a small seabird (fairy prion, Pachyptila turtur) enables the reptile to maintain higher-than-average body temperatures. This is the first multiyear data set to reveal that the presence of an endotherm within a burrow has direct, transferable thermal benefits to an ectotherm. It is possible that such positive interspecific interactions may alleviate thermal stress across the range of a single species. Currently, we know little about the evolutionary consequences of such interactions, and future work should focus on whether these thermal benefits increase fitness through increased growth rates or reproductive output.
authors.affiliation: Conservation and Environmental Management, NorthTec, Whangarei 0148, New Zealand; 2Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand; 3Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Corkery
authors.forename: Ben D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Nicola J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D009520:New Zealand; D012104:Reptiles / Q000502:physiology*; D013559:Symbiosis