Abstract
Given the rapid loss of biodiversity as consequence of climate change, greater knowledge of ecophysiological and natural history traits are crucial to determine which environmental factors induce stress and drive the decline of threatened species. Liolaemus montanezi (Liolaemidae), a xeric-adapted lizard occurring only in a small geographic range in west-central Argentina, constitutes an excellent model for studies on the threats of climate change on such microendemic species. We describe field data on activity patterns, use of microhabitat, behavioral thermoregulation, and physiology to produce species distribution models (SDMs) based on climate and ecophysiological data. Liolaemus montanezi inhabits a thermally harsh environment which remarkably impacts their activity and thermoregulation. The species shows a daily bimodal pattern of activity and mostly occupies shaded microenvironments. Although the individuals thermoregulate at body temperatures below their thermal preference they avoid high-temperature microenvironments probably to avoid overheating. The population currently persists because of the important role of the habitat physiognomy and not because of niche tracking, seemingly prevented by major rivers that form boundaries of their geographic range. We found evidence of habitat opportunities in the current range and adjacent areas that will likely remain suitable to the year 2070, reinforcing the relevance of the river floodplain for the species’ avoidance of extinction.
Highlights
Given the rapid loss of biodiversity as consequence of climate change, greater knowledge of ecophysiological and natural history traits are crucial to determine which environmental factors induce stress and drive the decline of threatened species
Tbs of L. montanezi were lower than Ts, while Tb and Ts were significantly higher than Ta (Supplementary Table S2). Tbs increased with Tas, and did not depend on Tss (Stepwise Regression, FTb-Ta (18) = 11.98, P < 0.001; F Tb-Ts (18) = 8.95, P > 0.3, Fig. 1)
Tbs were not significantly related to wind velocity, but it was negatively related to RH% (Simple Regression, FTb-Wd (1; 21) = 0.393, t = 0.627, R2 = 0.02, P > 0.5; FTb-RH% (1; 21) = 55.37, t = − 7.442, R2 = 0.74, P < 0.001, Fig. 1)
Summary
Given the rapid loss of biodiversity as consequence of climate change, greater knowledge of ecophysiological and natural history traits are crucial to determine which environmental factors induce stress and drive the decline of threatened species. The consequences of global climate change on plants and animals have attracted a vast research endeavor on ecology and physiology over the last two decades as the rapid planetary warming becomes e vident[1,2,3] One of their main goals is the evaluation of physiological profiles on species and projections of how different climatic scenarios, derived from the monitoring of the climatological fluctuations and anomalies over the past century, might affect biodiversity. Species with limited dispersal capacities (low vagility) or confined to specialized habitats within restricted distribution ranges are vulnerable When these habitats develop conditions at the limits of species’ environmental envelopes, this scenario might irreversibly lead to the extirpation of such populations. The implementation of conservation and management efforts of such vulnerable species and their habitats are one of the main outcomes of physiological ecology research[11]
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