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Relatively low upper threshold temperature in lizards from cool habitats
Authors:Hong-Liang Lu  Xiang Ji  Long-Hui Lin  Ling Zhang
Institution:1. School of Life Sciences, Hangzhou Normal College, Hangzhou 310036, Zhejiang, People''s Republic of China;2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Bioresource Technology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, Jiangsu, People''s Republic of China
Abstract:We used the slender forest skink (Scincella modesta) as a model animal to test for the hypothesis that the upper threshold of incubation temperature is relatively low in lizards using shaded (and thus, cool) habitats. Eight gravid females were collected in early May 2005 from a population in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (eastern China). All females laid a single clutch of 7–13 eggs between mid-May and early June. Eggs were incubated at 24, 28 and 30 (±0.2) °C. None of eggs incubated at 30 °C hatched. Eggs incubated at 24 and 28 °C differed in incubation length but not in hatching success. The incubation length at 24 and 28 °C averaged 22.3 and 20.3 days, respectively. Hatchlings from eggs incubated at 24 and 28 °C did not differ in all examined morphological traits, but hatchlings from eggs incubated at 28 °C performed apparently worse in the racetrack than did their counterparts from eggs incubated at 24 °C. The temperature of 28 °C is close to the upper thermal threshold for successful embryonic development in S. modesta. Compared to other oviparous lizards using open (and thus, warm) habitats, the upper thermal threshold and the range of optimal temperatures for embryonic development are both lower in S. modesta. Our study supports the previous conclusion that species living in thermally different habitats may differ in the upper thermal threshold and the range of optimal temperatures for embryonic development.
Keywords:Reptilia  Scincidae  Scincella modesta  Egg  Incubation  Hatching success  Morphological phenotype  Locomotor performance
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