New born hatchlings of Calotes versicolor were reared in terrarium having narrow or wide perches for a period of 4-month and their snout vent length（SVL）, tail, fore and hindlimb lengths were measured at monthly int...New born hatchlings of Calotes versicolor were reared in terrarium having narrow or wide perches for a period of 4-month and their snout vent length（SVL）, tail, fore and hindlimb lengths were measured at monthly intervals. Limb postures（closer to the body or spread away from the body） were also recorded. The sprint speed was recorded in two and four-month old lizards on a 1 m long race track providing 45° or 60° slope. In both the groups, SVL and tail lengths were comparable but the limb lengths and their growth rates were significantly greater in lizards of wider perch group. The lizards reared with narrow perches positioned their limbs closer to the body; while those reared on wider perches spread their limbs away from their body. Further, the latter exhibited significantly higher sprint speed regardless of the slope of the race track over those of narrow perch group. Sprint speeds of lizards in both groups were correlated with the limb sizes. The study showed that the lizards reared on narrow or wide perches exhibited divergent adaptive responses（phenotypic plasticity） by developing longer or shorter limbs and corresponding changes in their sprint speeds. These findings support the idea that availability of perch structure during early development evokes adaptive plasticity in the limb development and associated locomotory performance in arboreal lizards like C. versicolor.展开更多
文摘New born hatchlings of Calotes versicolor were reared in terrarium having narrow or wide perches for a period of 4-month and their snout vent length（SVL）, tail, fore and hindlimb lengths were measured at monthly intervals. Limb postures（closer to the body or spread away from the body） were also recorded. The sprint speed was recorded in two and four-month old lizards on a 1 m long race track providing 45° or 60° slope. In both the groups, SVL and tail lengths were comparable but the limb lengths and their growth rates were significantly greater in lizards of wider perch group. The lizards reared with narrow perches positioned their limbs closer to the body; while those reared on wider perches spread their limbs away from their body. Further, the latter exhibited significantly higher sprint speed regardless of the slope of the race track over those of narrow perch group. Sprint speeds of lizards in both groups were correlated with the limb sizes. The study showed that the lizards reared on narrow or wide perches exhibited divergent adaptive responses（phenotypic plasticity） by developing longer or shorter limbs and corresponding changes in their sprint speeds. These findings support the idea that availability of perch structure during early development evokes adaptive plasticity in the limb development and associated locomotory performance in arboreal lizards like C. versicolor.
