Behavioral thermal tolerance: implications for ecology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles

• Ano de defesa: 2022
• Autor(a) principal: Diaz Ricaurte, Juan Camilo
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Animal behavior; Animal physiology; Behavioral responses; Climate change; Comportamento animal; Ecologia térmica; Ectotermos; Ectotherms; Fisiologia animal; História natural; Mudanças climáticas; Natural history; Respostas comportamentais; Termorregulação; Thermal ecology; Thermoregulation
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/91/91131/tde-14092022-154441/

Ectothermic animals depend on the environmental conditions in their habitat (eg temperature) to carry and maintain their physiological functions. Due to current global warming and the high diversity in the Neotropics endangered by rising temperatures, the understanding of its thermal ecology, along with aspects of its life history and phylogenetic relationships are necessary for its conservation. In this thesis I experimentally estimated the behavioral thermal tolerances of 67 species of Neotropical amphibians and reptiles. Additionally, I explored how these are related in different ecological, physiological and macroevolutionary aspects. In Chapter 1 I validated the experimental method for estimating behavioral thermal tolerances in snakes and investigated whether captive conditions affect these thermal tolerances in pitvipers. In Chapter 2, I investigated whether behavioral thermal tolerances help to explain distribution patterns and some aspects of the natural history of Neotropical frogs. In Chapter 3, I used a macroevolutionary approach to explore the relationship between tolerances and environmental characteristics in a monophyletic group of Neotropical pitvipers. Finally, in Chapter 4, I estimated and compiled a database of voluntary thermal tolerances from 53 species of amphibians and reptiles to provide a baseline for understanding the thermal tolerances of ectothermic vertebrates. The chapters were specifically designed and executed to describe, in a broad perspective, the implications of thermal tolerances on the ecology, evolution and life history of Neotropical ectotherms. The results of each chapter present important points for the understanding, interpretation and use of thermal tolerances in ecological, physiological and phylogenetic studies. This should result in a more complete approach and a more general understanding of both behavioral and physiological requirements and strategies, as well as the creation of more realistic scenarios of climate change in ectothermic vertebrates.