From diurnal to nocturnal activity: a case study of night-light niche expansion in Agama agama lizards. Issue 5 (3rd September 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- From diurnal to nocturnal activity: a case study of night-light niche expansion in Agama agama lizards. Issue 5 (3rd September 2021)
- Main Title:
- From diurnal to nocturnal activity: a case study of night-light niche expansion in Agama agama lizards
- Authors:
- Amadi, Nioking
Luiselli, Luca
Belema, Robert
Awala Nyiwale, Grace
Wala, Chimela
Urubia, Nwaiwu
Meek, Roger - Abstract:
- Abstract : Most species of lizard are either diurnal or nocturnal, and it is extremely rare to find species that operate both diurnally and nocturnally, or that may shift from diurnality to partial nocturnality when conditions allow. However, niche expansion from diurnal to nocturnal habits (often referred to as the night-light niche) has rarely been reported in lizards (mainly in Anoles), and mostly through anecdotal reports. In West Africa, the rainbow lizard Agama agama is a conspicuous species across the region but also lives in suburban areas of towns and villages. It is a diurnal sun-basker operating at relatively high body temperatures of 36 °C and higher. In this paper, we describe a night-light niche expansion, i.e. nocturnal foraging and thermoregulation, in a small number of A. agama populations living in suburban areas. These lizards utilised radiant heat from incandescent light bulbs situated on the walls of buildings to mostly achieve target body temperatures and forage for and fed on five different groups of invertebrates. Foraging lizards had significantly higher body temperatures than inactive lizards. However, variance in body temperature was significantly greater in foraging lizards than in inactive lizards probably due to the necessity to shuttle between the incandescent night lights and cooler foraging areas during activity, a known cost of thermoregulation. Regression analysis of body temperatures against time of night in foraging lizards supported theAbstract : Most species of lizard are either diurnal or nocturnal, and it is extremely rare to find species that operate both diurnally and nocturnally, or that may shift from diurnality to partial nocturnality when conditions allow. However, niche expansion from diurnal to nocturnal habits (often referred to as the night-light niche) has rarely been reported in lizards (mainly in Anoles), and mostly through anecdotal reports. In West Africa, the rainbow lizard Agama agama is a conspicuous species across the region but also lives in suburban areas of towns and villages. It is a diurnal sun-basker operating at relatively high body temperatures of 36 °C and higher. In this paper, we describe a night-light niche expansion, i.e. nocturnal foraging and thermoregulation, in a small number of A. agama populations living in suburban areas. These lizards utilised radiant heat from incandescent light bulbs situated on the walls of buildings to mostly achieve target body temperatures and forage for and fed on five different groups of invertebrates. Foraging lizards had significantly higher body temperatures than inactive lizards. However, variance in body temperature was significantly greater in foraging lizards than in inactive lizards probably due to the necessity to shuttle between the incandescent night lights and cooler foraging areas during activity, a known cost of thermoregulation. Regression analysis of body temperatures against time of night in foraging lizards supported the notion that the lizards were maintaining body temperatures by actively thermoregulating whilst in inactive non-basking resting lizards during the same time period body temperatures declined. Although our results indicate a potential thermoregulatory benefit from using the night-light shift, we cannot be certain that this benefit is the direct cause of the shift, rather than an additional advantage when foraging. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Ethology, ecology & evolution. Volume 33:Issue 5(2021)
- Journal:
- Ethology, ecology & evolution
- Issue:
- Volume 33:Issue 5(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 33, Issue 5 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 33
- Issue:
- 5
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0033-0005-0000
- Page Start:
- 515
- Page End:
- 527
- Publication Date:
- 2021-09-03
- Subjects:
- Agamidae -- niche shift -- foraging ecology -- thermal ecology
Animal behavior -- Periodicals
Animal ecology -- Periodicals
Behavior evolution -- Periodicals
Behavior, Animal -- Periodicals
Ecology -- Periodicals
Biological Evolution -- Periodicals
Écologie animale -- Périodiques
Évolution du comportement -- Périodiques
Éthologie -- Périodiques
Animal behavior
Animal ecology
Behavior evolution
Periodicals
Electronic journals
591.5 - Journal URLs:
- http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/20334991.html ↗
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/teee20/current ↗
http://www.unifi.it/unifi/dbag/eee/ ↗
http://www.tandfonline.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1080/03949370.2021.1883120 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0394-9370
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 21353.xml