RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Some like it hotter: differential thermal preferences among lizard color morphs
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2022.11.11.516149
DO 10.1101/2022.11.11.516149
A1 Thompson, Asher
A1 Kapsanaki, Vassiliki
A1 Liwanag, Heather E. M.
A1 Pafilis, Panayiotis
A1 Wang, Ian J.
A1 Brock, Kinsey M.
YR 2022
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/11/14/2022.11.11.516149.abstract
AB Temperature rules the lives of ectotherms. To perform basic biological functions, ectotherms must make behavioral adjustments to keep their body temperatures near a preferred temperature (Tpref). Many color polymorphic lizards are active thermoregulators and exhibit morph differences in traits related to thermoregulation, such as color, body size, and microhabitat use. The Aegean wall lizard, Podarcis erhardii, is a heliothermic lizard with orange, white, and yellow color morphs that differ in size, behavior, and microhabitat use. Here, we tested whether P. erhardii color morphs from the same population from Naxos island, Greece, differ in Tpref. We hypothesized that orange morphs would prefer lower temperatures than white and yellow morphs because orange morphs are often found on cooler substrates and in microhabitats with more vegetation cover. We obtained Tpref for 95 individuals using laboratory thermal gradient experiments of wild-caught lizards and found that orange morphs do, indeed, prefer significantly cooler temperatures, regardless of body size differences. Average orange morph Tpref was 2.3 ºC lower than average white and yellow morph Tpref. Our results add support to the idea that P. erhardii color morphs have multivariate alternative phenotypes and present the possibility that thermally heterogeneous environments play a role in the maintenance of color polymorphism in this species.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.