Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard
The evolutionary role of fire in animals has been poorly explored. Reptiles use sensory cues, such as smell (chemoreception), to detect threats and flee. In Mediterranean ecosystems, fire is a threat faced by reptiles. We hypothesized that the Mediterranean lizard Psammodromus algirus recognizes the threat of fire by detecting the smoke, which triggers a behavioral response that enhances survival in fire-prone ecosystems. We predicted that lizards from fire-prone ecosystems will be more sensitive to fire stimulus than those from ecosystems that rarely burn. We conducted a terrarium experiment in which lizards from habitats with contrasted fire regimes (fire-prone vs. non-fire-prone) were exposed to smoke versus control (false smoke) treatment. We found that, in populations from fire-prone habitats, more lizards reacted to smoke, and their behavioral response was more intense than in lizard populations from non-fire-prone habitats. Our results suggest that an enhanced response to smoke may be adaptive in lizards from fire-prone ecosystems as it increases the chance for survival. We provide evidence that fire is likely an evolutionary driver shaping behavioral traits in lizard populations exposed to frequent wildfires. Understanding ecological and evolutionary processes shaping animal populations is relevant for species conservation in a changing fire regime world.
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | artículo biblioteca |
Published: |
Oxford University Press
2021-07
|
Subjects: | Fire adaptation, Fire avoidance, Global change, Psammodromus algirus, Reptiles, Smoke detection, |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/266352 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003329 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
id |
dig-cide-es-10261-266352 |
---|---|
record_format |
koha |
spelling |
dig-cide-es-10261-2663522022-04-30T01:41:53Z Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard Álvarez-Ruiz, Lola Belliure, Josabel Pausas, J. G. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España) Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España) Fire adaptation Fire avoidance Global change Psammodromus algirus Reptiles Smoke detection The evolutionary role of fire in animals has been poorly explored. Reptiles use sensory cues, such as smell (chemoreception), to detect threats and flee. In Mediterranean ecosystems, fire is a threat faced by reptiles. We hypothesized that the Mediterranean lizard Psammodromus algirus recognizes the threat of fire by detecting the smoke, which triggers a behavioral response that enhances survival in fire-prone ecosystems. We predicted that lizards from fire-prone ecosystems will be more sensitive to fire stimulus than those from ecosystems that rarely burn. We conducted a terrarium experiment in which lizards from habitats with contrasted fire regimes (fire-prone vs. non-fire-prone) were exposed to smoke versus control (false smoke) treatment. We found that, in populations from fire-prone habitats, more lizards reacted to smoke, and their behavioral response was more intense than in lizard populations from non-fire-prone habitats. Our results suggest that an enhanced response to smoke may be adaptive in lizards from fire-prone ecosystems as it increases the chance for survival. We provide evidence that fire is likely an evolutionary driver shaping behavioral traits in lizard populations exposed to frequent wildfires. Understanding ecological and evolutionary processes shaping animal populations is relevant for species conservation in a changing fire regime world. This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish Government (grant numbers CGL2015-64086-P, PGC2018-096569-B-I00, and BES-2016–078225) 2022-04-05T12:30:03Z 2022-04-05T12:30:03Z 2021-07 2022-04-05T12:30:03Z artículo http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 Behavioral Ecology 32(4): 662-667 (2021) 1045-2249 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/266352 10.1093/beheco/arab010 1465-7279 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003329 #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MINECO//CGL2015-64086-P/ES/FUEGO Y INTERACCIONES BIOTICAS A ESCALA DE PAISAJE/ info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/PGC2018-096569-B-I00/ES/FUEGO E INTERACCIONES BIOTICAS: DE ACAROS A PINOS/ info:eu-repo/grantAgreement////BES-2016–078225 Preprint http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab010 Sí open Oxford University Press International Society for Behavioral Ecology |
institution |
CIDE ES |
collection |
DSpace |
country |
España |
countrycode |
ES |
component |
Bibliográfico |
access |
En linea |
databasecode |
dig-cide-es |
tag |
biblioteca |
region |
Europa del Sur |
libraryname |
Biblioteca del CIDE España |
topic |
Fire adaptation Fire avoidance Global change Psammodromus algirus Reptiles Smoke detection Fire adaptation Fire avoidance Global change Psammodromus algirus Reptiles Smoke detection |
spellingShingle |
Fire adaptation Fire avoidance Global change Psammodromus algirus Reptiles Smoke detection Fire adaptation Fire avoidance Global change Psammodromus algirus Reptiles Smoke detection Álvarez-Ruiz, Lola Belliure, Josabel Pausas, J. G. Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard |
description |
The evolutionary role of fire in animals has been poorly explored. Reptiles use sensory cues, such as smell (chemoreception), to detect threats and flee. In Mediterranean ecosystems, fire is a threat faced by reptiles. We hypothesized that the Mediterranean lizard Psammodromus algirus recognizes the threat of fire by detecting the smoke, which triggers a behavioral response that enhances survival in fire-prone ecosystems. We predicted that lizards from fire-prone ecosystems will be more sensitive to fire stimulus than those from ecosystems that rarely burn. We conducted a terrarium experiment in which lizards from habitats with contrasted fire regimes (fire-prone vs. non-fire-prone) were exposed to smoke versus control (false smoke) treatment. We found that, in populations from fire-prone habitats, more lizards reacted to smoke, and their behavioral response was more intense than in lizard populations from non-fire-prone habitats. Our results suggest that an enhanced response to smoke may be adaptive in lizards from fire-prone ecosystems as it increases the chance for survival. We provide evidence that fire is likely an evolutionary driver shaping behavioral traits in lizard populations exposed to frequent wildfires. Understanding ecological and evolutionary processes shaping animal populations is relevant for species conservation in a changing fire regime world. |
author2 |
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) |
author_facet |
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) Álvarez-Ruiz, Lola Belliure, Josabel Pausas, J. G. |
format |
artículo |
topic_facet |
Fire adaptation Fire avoidance Global change Psammodromus algirus Reptiles Smoke detection |
author |
Álvarez-Ruiz, Lola Belliure, Josabel Pausas, J. G. |
author_sort |
Álvarez-Ruiz, Lola |
title |
Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard |
title_short |
Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard |
title_full |
Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard |
title_fullStr |
Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard |
title_sort |
fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a mediterranean lizard |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2021-07 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/266352 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003329 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT alvarezruizlola firedrivenbehavioralresponsetosmokeinamediterraneanlizard AT belliurejosabel firedrivenbehavioralresponsetosmokeinamediterraneanlizard AT pausasjg firedrivenbehavioralresponsetosmokeinamediterraneanlizard |
_version_ |
1777665609562062848 |