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Thermal performance curves based on field movements reveal context-dependence of thermal traits in a desert ectotherm

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Abstract

Context

Thermal traits likely mediate organismal responses to changing thermal environments. As temperatures increase, predicting species responses will depend on understanding how thermal traits vary within and among individuals and across time and space.

Objectives

We evaluated variation in thermal traits within and among individual Mojave Desert Tortoises, using GPS telemetry to quantify movement performance and animal-mounted sensors to measure carapace temperatures.

Methods

We constructed thermal performance curves (TPCs) based on movement velocity and assessed variation in associated thermal traits by sex, season, and proximity to roads. We also examined the temperature-dependence of monthly home ranges and the frequency of high-displacement movements.

Results

Individuals exhibited lower variation in upper critical temperatures (CTmaxE) than in other traits, such as optimum temperatures and lower critical temperatures for movement. All thermal traits varied within individuals, either by season or proximity to roads. We also found that monthly home range size and the frequency of high-displacement movements increased with the time individuals spent within their optimal temperature range; however, this effect was only apparent during months with greater rainfall.

Conclusions

Low standing variation in CTmaxE suggests that this trait may be constrained, limiting potential changes through acclimation or selection in warming environments. Our results demonstrate the modifying effect of rainfall on temperature-space use relationships and highlight the dependence of thermal traits on ecological and landscape contexts. Field-based TPCs derived from GPS movement tracks provided ecologically-relevant estimates of thermal traits and suggest an informative framework for unifying elements of thermal biology and spatial ecology.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. Drake and R. Tracy for providing physical models. This study was supported by the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, through an agreement (L11AC20333) with UC Davis, by a California Energy Commission agreement 500-10-020 with UC Davis, and through a US Department of the Interior, National Park Service agreement P08AC00193 with University of Georgia. Additional funding was provided by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project CAD-WFB-2097-H and by the Department of Energy through award number DE-EM0004391 to the University of Georgia Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    A. Justin Nowakowski & Brian D. Todd

  2. Working Land and Seascapes, Conservation Commons, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013, USA

    A. Justin Nowakowski

  3. Conservation International, Arlington, VA, 22202, USA

    A. Justin Nowakowski

  4. Department of Biology, Rogers State University, 1701 W. Will Rogers Blvd, Claremore, OK, 74017, USA

    J. Mark Peaden

  5. University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Lab, Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA

    Tracey D. Tuberville & Kurt A. Buhlmann

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  1. A. Justin Nowakowski
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Correspondence to A. Justin Nowakowski.

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Nowakowski, A.J., Peaden, J.M., Tuberville, T.D. et al. Thermal performance curves based on field movements reveal context-dependence of thermal traits in a desert ectotherm. Landscape Ecol 35, 893–906 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-00986-x

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