Environmental temperatures shape thermal physiology as well as diversification and genome-wide substitution rates in lizards

García-Porta, Joan; Irisarri, Iker; Kirchner, Martin; Rodriguez, Ariel; Kirchhof, Sebastian; Brown, Jason L.; MacLeod, Amy; Turner, Alexander P.; Ahmadzadeh, Faraham; Albaladejo, Gonzalo; Crnobrnja-Isailovic, Jelka; De la Riva, Ignacio; Fawzi, Adnane; Galan, Pedro; Göçmen, Bayram; Harris, D. James; Jiménez-Robles, Octavio; Joger, Ulrich; Jovanović Glavaš, Olga; Karış, Mert; Koziel, Giannina; Künzel, Sven; Lyra, Mariana; Miles, Donald; Nogales, Manuel; Oğuz, Mehmet Anıl; Pafilis, Panayiotis; Rancilhac, Loïs; Rodríguez, Noemi; Rodríguez Concepción, Benza; Sanchez, Eugenia; Salvi, Daniele; Slimani, Tahar; S'khifa, Abderrahim; Qashqaei, Ali Turk; Žagar, Anamarija; Lemmon, Alan; Lemmon, Emily Moriarty; Carretero, Miguel Angel; Carranza, Salvador; Philippe, Hervé; Sinervo, Barry; Müller, Johannes; Vences, Miguel; Wollenberg Valero, Katharina C.

Abstract

© 2019, The Author(s). Climatic conditions changing over time and space shape the evolution of organisms at multiple levels, including temperate lizards in the family Lacertidae. Here we reconstruct a dated phylogenetic tree of 262 lacertid species based on a supermatrix relying on novel phylogenomic datasets and fossil calibrations. Diversification of lacertids was accompanied by an increasing disparity among occupied bioclimatic niches, especially in the last 10 Ma, during a period of progressive global cooling. Temperate species also underwent a genome-wide slowdown in molecular substitution rates compared to tropical and desert-adapted lacertids. Evaporative water loss and preferred temperature are correlated with bioclimatic parameters, indicating physiological adaptations to climate. Tropical, but also some populations of cool-adapted species experience maximum temperatures close to their preferred temperatures. We hypothesize these species-specific physiological preferences may constitute a handicap to prevail under rapid global warming, and contribute to explaining local lizard extinctions in cool and humid climates.

Citation

García-Porta, J., Irisarri, I., Kirchner, M., Rodriguez, A., Kirchhof, S., Brown, J. L., …Wollenberg Valero, K. C. (2019). Environmental temperatures shape thermal physiology as well as diversification and genome-wide substitution rates in lizards. Nature communications, 10(1), Article 4077. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11943-x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 13, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Sep 9, 2019
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Aug 14, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 10, 2019
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 4077
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11943-x
• Keywords: Climate-change ecology; Conservation biology; Herpetology; Phylogenetics
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/2354487
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11943-x
• Additional Information: Received: 31 August 2018; Accepted: 13 August 2019; First Online: 9 September 2019; : The authors declare no competing interests.