There are many short-lived animals,but those displaying a lifecycle with more than one generation per year(multivoltine lifecycle)are rare amongterrestrial vertebrates.The multivoltine lifecycle requires rapid growth ...There are many short-lived animals,but those displaying a lifecycle with more than one generation per year(multivoltine lifecycle)are rare amongterrestrial vertebrates.The multivoltine lifecycle requires rapid growth and maturation and a long active season.Thus,small lizards in humidtropical or subtropical areas are candidates for multivoltine lifecycles.To test this prediction,we conducted a capture-mark-recapture study of asubtropical grass lizard,Takydromus toyamai,endemic to Miyako Islands,Japan.Juveniles grew very quickly,averaging 0.3 mm/day in the warmseason,and attained sexual maturity at 2.5 months post-hatching.The breeding season was very long,and hatchlings emerged from May toNovember.The prolonged breeding season and rapid growth to maturity allowed some individuals to produce a second generation in their frstyear.Estimates of hatching date from growth rates indicated that many females that hatched in May-June became gravid 76-120 days afterhatching and 122-165 days after oviposition of the eggs from which they hatched.Analyses of juvenile survivorship and month of hatching suggest that nearly half of breeding adults were members of multivoltine generations,although the 2 generations were not discrete.The species isshort-lived,with only 16% of individuals surviving beyond 12 months,and few individuals reproduced in a second year.We refer to this conditionas a“semi-multivoltine lifecycle.”Individuals that hatch late in the season defer reproduction until the following year and become founders ofthe next season’s cohort.This putative advantage of late-hatching individuals may have driven the evolution of this lifecycle.展开更多
基金supported fnancially by the Nanseishoto Project of WWFJ,Pro Natura Foundation Japan’s 31st Pro Natura Fundthe Project for Biodiversity Conservation Promotion of the Japan Ministry of the Environment.
文摘There are many short-lived animals,but those displaying a lifecycle with more than one generation per year(multivoltine lifecycle)are rare amongterrestrial vertebrates.The multivoltine lifecycle requires rapid growth and maturation and a long active season.Thus,small lizards in humidtropical or subtropical areas are candidates for multivoltine lifecycles.To test this prediction,we conducted a capture-mark-recapture study of asubtropical grass lizard,Takydromus toyamai,endemic to Miyako Islands,Japan.Juveniles grew very quickly,averaging 0.3 mm/day in the warmseason,and attained sexual maturity at 2.5 months post-hatching.The breeding season was very long,and hatchlings emerged from May toNovember.The prolonged breeding season and rapid growth to maturity allowed some individuals to produce a second generation in their frstyear.Estimates of hatching date from growth rates indicated that many females that hatched in May-June became gravid 76-120 days afterhatching and 122-165 days after oviposition of the eggs from which they hatched.Analyses of juvenile survivorship and month of hatching suggest that nearly half of breeding adults were members of multivoltine generations,although the 2 generations were not discrete.The species isshort-lived,with only 16% of individuals surviving beyond 12 months,and few individuals reproduced in a second year.We refer to this conditionas a“semi-multivoltine lifecycle.”Individuals that hatch late in the season defer reproduction until the following year and become founders ofthe next season’s cohort.This putative advantage of late-hatching individuals may have driven the evolution of this lifecycle.
