Based on extensive field work in the northern Zagros Mountains, a new subspecies of Darevskia raddei （Boettger, 1892） from the west Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran is described. The new subspecies is distingu...Based on extensive field work in the northern Zagros Mountains, a new subspecies of Darevskia raddei （Boettger, 1892） from the west Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran is described. The new subspecies is distinguishable from all the other three subspecies of D. raddei based on the combination of several distinguishing characters, such as dorsal body with 50-55 oval to round, smooth, or very weakly keeled, scales, 25-31 scales across the gular region, 18-20 femoral pores on each side of body （reaching the knee）, 29-31 tuberculate lamellae under the fourth toe, 11-12 supraciliaries, 9-11 collars and a specific color pattern. The new subspecies meets all the morphological characters described by Eiselt et al. （1993） for an undefined and intermediate form between D. raddei raddei in the east of and D. r vanensis in the west of the distribution range of the species.展开更多
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
Sexual size dimorphism （SSD） has long attracted the attention of biologists, and life-history variation is thought to play an important role in the evolution of SSD. Here we quantified SSD and female reproductive tr...Sexual size dimorphism （SSD） has long attracted the attention of biologists, and life-history variation is thought to play an important role in the evolution of SSD. Here we quantified SSD and female reproductive traits to identify potential asso- ciations between SSD and female reproduction in the white-striped grass lizard Takydromus wolteri. In a population from Chuzhou, China, the largest male and female were 53.0 mm and 57.5 mm in snout-vent length （SVL）, respectively. Females were larger in SVL and abdomen length, whereas males were larger in head size and tail length. Females produced up to five clutches of eggs during the breeding season, with large females producing more clutches and more eggs per clutch than small ones. As a result, large females had a higher annual fecundity and reproductive output. Egg size was positively correlated with matemal SVL in the first clutch, but not in subsequent clutches. These results suggest that T. wolteri is a species with female-biased SSD, and that fectmdity selection, in which large females have higher fecundity due to their higher capacity for laying eggs, is likely correlated with the evolution of SSD in this species展开更多
Measuring climatic niche position and breadth may help to determine where species can occur over space and time. Using GIS-based and phylogenetic comparative methods, we investigated global patterns of variation in cl...Measuring climatic niche position and breadth may help to determine where species can occur over space and time. Using GIS-based and phylogenetic comparative methods, we investigated global patterns of variation in climatic niche breadth in lacertid lizards to test the following three hypotheses about climatic niche widths. First, does a species' temperature or precipitation niche breadth relate to its temperature or precipitation niche position(the mean value of annual mean temperature or annual precipitation across sampled localities in the range of each species)? Second, are there trade-offs between a species' temperature niche breadth and precipitation niche breadth? Third, does a species' temperature or precipitation niche breadth relate to altitude or latitude? We expect that:(1) species distributed in cold regions are specialized for low-temperature environments(i.e. narrow niche breadth center around low temperatures);(2) a negative relationship between species niche breadth on temperature and precipitation axes according to the tradeoff hypothesis(i.e. species that tolerate a broad range of precipitation regimes cannot also tolerate a broad range of temperatures);(3) precipitation niche breadth decreases with altitude or latitude, whereas temperature climatic niche breadth increases with altitude or latitude. Based on the analytical results we found that:(1) temperature niche breadth and position are negatively related, while precipitation niche breadth and position are positively related;(2) there is no trade-off between temperature and precipitation niche breadths; and (3) temperature niche breadth and latitude/altitude are positively related, but precipitation niche breadth and latitude/altitude are not significantly related. Our results show many similarities with previous studies on climatic niche widths reported for amphibians and lizards, which provide further evidence that such macroecological patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths may be widespread.展开更多
Phylogeographic studies of Eremias lizards （Lacertidae） in East Asia have been limited, and the impact of major climatic events on their population dynamics remains poorly known. This study aimed to investigate popu...Phylogeographic studies of Eremias lizards （Lacertidae） in East Asia have been limited, and the impact of major climatic events on their population dynamics remains poorly known. This study aimed to investigate population histories and refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum of two sympatric Eremias lizards （E. argus and E. brenchleyi） inhabiting northern China. We sequenced partial mitochondrial DNA from the ND4 gene for 128 individuals of E. argus from nine localities, and 46 individuals of E. brenchleyi from five localities. Forty-four ND4 haplotypes were determined from E. argus samples, and 33 from E. brenchleyi samples. Population expansion events began about 0.0044 Ma in E. argus, and 0.031 Ma in E. brenchleyi. The demographic history of E. brenchleyi indicates a long-lasting population decline since the most recent common ancestor, while that of E. argus indicates a continuous population growth. Among-population structure was significant in both species, and there were multiple refugia across their range. Intermittent gene flow occurred among expanded populations across multiple refugia during warmer phases of the glacial period, and this may explain why the effective population size has remained relatively stable in E. brenchleyi and grown in E. argus.展开更多
文摘Based on extensive field work in the northern Zagros Mountains, a new subspecies of Darevskia raddei （Boettger, 1892） from the west Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran is described. The new subspecies is distinguishable from all the other three subspecies of D. raddei based on the combination of several distinguishing characters, such as dorsal body with 50-55 oval to round, smooth, or very weakly keeled, scales, 25-31 scales across the gular region, 18-20 femoral pores on each side of body （reaching the knee）, 29-31 tuberculate lamellae under the fourth toe, 11-12 supraciliaries, 9-11 collars and a specific color pattern. The new subspecies meets all the morphological characters described by Eiselt et al. （1993） for an undefined and intermediate form between D. raddei raddei in the east of and D. r vanensis in the west of the distribution range of the species.
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.
基金Acknowledgements The work was carried out in compli- ance with laws of China. Financial support for this research was provided by the local government of Anhui Province to XF Xu （KJ2010A249） and Anhui Province Natural Science Foundation to LG Luo （10040606Q46）. Thanks to Cheng- Feng Tang, Li Ma, Yong-Long Chert, Xian-Yu Tian and Yong Jin for help with this research.
文摘Sexual size dimorphism （SSD） has long attracted the attention of biologists, and life-history variation is thought to play an important role in the evolution of SSD. Here we quantified SSD and female reproductive traits to identify potential asso- ciations between SSD and female reproduction in the white-striped grass lizard Takydromus wolteri. In a population from Chuzhou, China, the largest male and female were 53.0 mm and 57.5 mm in snout-vent length （SVL）, respectively. Females were larger in SVL and abdomen length, whereas males were larger in head size and tail length. Females produced up to five clutches of eggs during the breeding season, with large females producing more clutches and more eggs per clutch than small ones. As a result, large females had a higher annual fecundity and reproductive output. Egg size was positively correlated with matemal SVL in the first clutch, but not in subsequent clutches. These results suggest that T. wolteri is a species with female-biased SSD, and that fectmdity selection, in which large females have higher fecundity due to their higher capacity for laying eggs, is likely correlated with the evolution of SSD in this species
基金Financial support was provided by grants from Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (LY17C030003)Natural Science Foundation of China (31270571)Science and Technology Bureau of Sanya (2013YD08)
文摘Measuring climatic niche position and breadth may help to determine where species can occur over space and time. Using GIS-based and phylogenetic comparative methods, we investigated global patterns of variation in climatic niche breadth in lacertid lizards to test the following three hypotheses about climatic niche widths. First, does a species' temperature or precipitation niche breadth relate to its temperature or precipitation niche position(the mean value of annual mean temperature or annual precipitation across sampled localities in the range of each species)? Second, are there trade-offs between a species' temperature niche breadth and precipitation niche breadth? Third, does a species' temperature or precipitation niche breadth relate to altitude or latitude? We expect that:(1) species distributed in cold regions are specialized for low-temperature environments(i.e. narrow niche breadth center around low temperatures);(2) a negative relationship between species niche breadth on temperature and precipitation axes according to the tradeoff hypothesis(i.e. species that tolerate a broad range of precipitation regimes cannot also tolerate a broad range of temperatures);(3) precipitation niche breadth decreases with altitude or latitude, whereas temperature climatic niche breadth increases with altitude or latitude. Based on the analytical results we found that:(1) temperature niche breadth and position are negatively related, while precipitation niche breadth and position are positively related;(2) there is no trade-off between temperature and precipitation niche breadths; and (3) temperature niche breadth and latitude/altitude are positively related, but precipitation niche breadth and latitude/altitude are not significantly related. Our results show many similarities with previous studies on climatic niche widths reported for amphibians and lizards, which provide further evidence that such macroecological patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths may be widespread.
基金supported by grants from Chinese Ministry of Education (20070319006)the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions
文摘Phylogeographic studies of Eremias lizards （Lacertidae） in East Asia have been limited, and the impact of major climatic events on their population dynamics remains poorly known. This study aimed to investigate population histories and refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum of two sympatric Eremias lizards （E. argus and E. brenchleyi） inhabiting northern China. We sequenced partial mitochondrial DNA from the ND4 gene for 128 individuals of E. argus from nine localities, and 46 individuals of E. brenchleyi from five localities. Forty-four ND4 haplotypes were determined from E. argus samples, and 33 from E. brenchleyi samples. Population expansion events began about 0.0044 Ma in E. argus, and 0.031 Ma in E. brenchleyi. The demographic history of E. brenchleyi indicates a long-lasting population decline since the most recent common ancestor, while that of E. argus indicates a continuous population growth. Among-population structure was significant in both species, and there were multiple refugia across their range. Intermittent gene flow occurred among expanded populations across multiple refugia during warmer phases of the glacial period, and this may explain why the effective population size has remained relatively stable in E. brenchleyi and grown in E. argus.
