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Shift in Thermal Preferences of Female Oviparous Common Lizards During Egg Retention: Insights into the Evolution of Reptilian Viviparity

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Abstract

Pregnant female Zootoca vivipara select lower body temperatures than males or nonpregnant females, and this shift in the thermal preferendum is believed to be related to optimising the conditions for embryogenesis. Thus, subjecting embryos to the higher temperature selected by males and non-gravid females might have detrimental effects on embryonic development and on hatchling fitness, according to predictions of the “maternal manipulation” hypothesis on the evolution of viviparity. To test the role of gestation environment on embryonic development in oviparous Z. vivipara, we kept a number of gravid females at the temperature selected by non-gravid females in a laboratory thermal gradient, whereas control females were allowed to regulate their body temperature without restrictions. Developmental stage at oviposition was more advanced for embryos of the experimental clutches, which were heavier than those of the control group. Forced gestation temperature also affected hatching success (58.62% in the experimental treatment vs. 97.37% in the control group). In addition, hatchlings from females subjected to high temperatures during pregnancy were smaller, had shorter head length and performed worse in running trials. Our results fulfil the prediction of the “maternal manipulation” hypothesis, and suggest that the shift in female body temperature during pregnancy optimizes embryogenesis and hatchling phenotype by avoiding the negative effects of the high incubation temperatures preferred by non-gravid females.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Félix González for his assistance in collecting lizards, and Ronnie Lendrum for linguistic advice. Funding was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science (M.E.C.) as a project grant (ref. CGL2007-60187) to Florentino Braña and a fellowship to Tania Rodríguez-Díaz (ref. AP2005-4296) co-financed by the European Social Fund. The lizards used in this study were collected under licence from the environmental authorities of the Junta de Castilla y León and were released back into the wild at their places of capture after the experiments were completed.

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  1. Department of Biology of Organisms and Systems, Zoology Unit, University of Oviedo, and Research Unit of Biodiversity (CSIC-UO-PA), 33071, Oviedo, Spain

    Tania Rodríguez-Díaz & Florentino Braña

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  1. Tania Rodríguez-Díaz
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  2. Florentino Braña
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Correspondence to Tania Rodríguez-Díaz.

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Rodríguez-Díaz, T., Braña, F. Shift in Thermal Preferences of Female Oviparous Common Lizards During Egg Retention: Insights into the Evolution of Reptilian Viviparity. Evol Biol 38, 352–359 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-011-9122-y

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