Abstract
Stressful environments in utero can have a profound influence on cognitive functions and learning ability. In lizards, thermal environments experienced by embryos can shape a range of traits, including sex, body size, and locomotor performance, which may influence fitness. Recent studies suggest that incubation temperatures may also influence brain development and learning ability of some lizard species. Therefore, predicted increases in nest temperatures of lizards may not only affect hatchling morphology and performance, but could also affect their learning ability. To investigate how incubation temperatures influence cognitive abilities of hatchlings, we incubated eggs of the velvet gecko, Amalosia lesueurii, under two fluctuating temperature regimes. The warm treatment mimicked the thermal profiles of currently used partly shaded communal nests (mean = 24.3 °C, range 18.4–31.1 °C), and the hot treatment simulated thermal profiles that could be experienced in sun-exposed nests in 2050 (mean = 28.9 °C, range 19.1–38.1 °C). At age three to four weeks, we measured the ability of hatchlings to locate an open shelter in a Y-maze choice test. Both hot and warm-incubated hatchlings successfully learned the task, but hatchlings from the warm-temperature treatment learned the task faster, and made fewer mistakes in the first five trials than hot-incubated hatchlings. These patterns were consistent for hatchlings from two geographic locations, suggesting that thermally stressful conditions in utero may alter the learning abilities of hatchling lizards. Because learning ability can affect the survival of hatchling velvet geckos, future increase in nest temperatures may have wide reaching impacts on populations.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Gemma Armstrong and Susan Fenech for their assistance with technical issues in the laboratory. We thank Reannan Honey for preparing the Y maze. We appreciate the help provided by Reannan Honey, Yingyod Lapwong, and Santiago Cuartas in the field. We thank Rowena Morris for providing us with access to the study sites in Dharawal National Park, and Phil Craven and Bruce Gray for facilitating access to study sites near Nowra. We thank Graham Alexander and Daniel Warner for reviewing an earlier version of the manuscript, and four anonymous reviewers who provided critical comments and suggestions that helped to improve the final version.
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The project was supported by a UTS postgraduate research support grant to TA, and a UTS research grant to JKW.
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Theja Abayarathna and Jonathan Webb declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. The procedures described herein were approved by the UTS Animal Care and Ethics Committee (protocol #2012000256 to JKW). The collection of geckos from the study sites was approved by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (scientific licence SL101013 to JKW).
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Abayarathna, T., Webb, J.K. Effects of incubation temperatures on learning abilities of hatchling velvet geckos. Anim Cogn 23, 613–620 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01365-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01365-4