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Abstract Nest-site choice influences offspring development and varies in response to specific environmental cues. For species that inhabit coastal regions, salinity of the nest site is probably an important factor for nesting females, whereas this cue is likely to be rare or absent for inland populations. We compared nest-site choice of brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) between an island population (that frequently experiences seawater inundation) and an inland population (that rarely, if ever, experiences inundation). We hypothesized that island females would avoid nesting in saline soils more than inland females, because it impairs egg hatching success. We provided females from each population with two different nesting substrates (soil mixed with freshwater vs. saltwater). We incubated their eggs in these conditions to quantify the effects on embryo survival. Island females tended to avoid nesting in saltwater soil, whereas inland females exhibited no preference. Water loss and mortality rates of eggs increased during incubation in soil with saltwater. These patterns imply that females from island populations, but not inland populations, might have adaptive behavioural responses to soil salinity. These results have important implications for understanding how coastal or island populations might respond to changes in salinity under climate change (e.g. sea level rise, increased hurricanes).
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Deforestation poses deleterious effects to tree-climbing species under climate change
Habitat loss poses a major threat to global biodiversity. Many studies have explored the potential damages of deforestation to animal populations but few have considered trees as thermoregulatory microhabitats or addressed how tree loss might impact the fate of species under climate change. Using a biophysical approach, we explore how tree loss might affect semi-arboreal diurnal ectotherms (lizards) under current and projected climates. We find that tree loss can reduce lizard population growth by curtailing activity time and length of the activity season. Although climate change can generally promote population growth for lizards, deforestation can reverse these positive effects for 66% of simulated populations and further accelerate population declines for another 18%. Our research underscores the mechanistic link between tree availability and population survival and growth, thus advocating for forest conservation and the integration of biophysical modelling and microhabitat diversity into conservation strategies, particularly in the face of climate change.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2120891
- PAR ID:
- 10495837
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Nature
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Climate Change
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 1758-678X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 289 to 295
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-01939-x
