Vulnerability to global warming of a Critically Endangered lizard from the Monte Desert, Patagonia Argentina

Reptiles’ body temperature is strongly influenced by the thermal quality of microhabitats, exploiting the favourable environmental temperatures, and avoiding exposure to extreme thermal conditions. For these reasons, reptiles’ populations are considered to be especially vulnerable to changes in environmental temperatures produced by climate change. Here, we study the thermal physiology of the Critically Endangered lizard Liolaemus cuyumhue Avila, Morando, Perez and Sites, 2009. We hypothesise that, (1) there is a thermal coadaptation between optimal temperature for locomotor performance of L. cuyumhue and its thermal preference; (2) L. cuyumhue lives in an environment with low thermal quality; (3) a raise in environmental temperatures due to global warming will impose a decrement in locomotor speed represented by lower warming tolerance and narrower thermal safety margins, increasing their already high vulnerability. We registered field body temperatures (Tb), preferred body temperatures (Tpref), the operative (Te), and the thermal sensitivity of locomotion at different body temperatures. Our results indicate that this lizard is not currently under environmental stress or exceeding its thermal limits, but that it is thermorregulating below Tpref to avoid overheating, and that an increase in environmental temperature higher than 3.5 C will strongly affect the use of microhabitats with direct sun exposure.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author