TY - JOUR

T1 - Voluntary thermal maximum of grassland vipers (Vipera spp.): environmental drivers and local adaptation

AU - Radovics, Dávid

AU - Sos, Tibor

AU - Mebert, Konrad

AU - Üveges, Bálint

AU - Budai, Mátyás

AU - Rák, Gergő

AU - Szabolcs, Márton

AU - Lengyel, Szabolcs

AU - Mizsei, Edvárd

PY - 2023/9/30

Y1 - 2023/9/30

N2 - The thermal tolerance of ectotherms is a critical factor that influences their distribution, physiology, behaviour, and, ultimately, survival. Understanding the factors that shape thermal tolerance in these organisms is, therefore, of great importance for predicting their responses to forecasted climate warming. Here, we investigated the voluntary thermal maximum (VTmax) of nine grassland viper taxa and explored the factors that influence this trait. The small size of these vipers and the open landscape they inhabit render them particularly vulnerable to overheating and dehydration. We found that the VTmax of grassland vipers is influenced by environmental temperature, precipitation, short-wave flux, and individual body size, rather than by phylogenetic relatedness. Vipers living in colder environments exhibited a higher VTmax, contradicting the hypothesis that environmental temperature is positively related to VTmax. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering local to regional adaptations and environmental conditions when studying thermal physiology and the evolution of thermal tolerance in ectotherms.

AB - The thermal tolerance of ectotherms is a critical factor that influences their distribution, physiology, behaviour, and, ultimately, survival. Understanding the factors that shape thermal tolerance in these organisms is, therefore, of great importance for predicting their responses to forecasted climate warming. Here, we investigated the voluntary thermal maximum (VTmax) of nine grassland viper taxa and explored the factors that influence this trait. The small size of these vipers and the open landscape they inhabit render them particularly vulnerable to overheating and dehydration. We found that the VTmax of grassland vipers is influenced by environmental temperature, precipitation, short-wave flux, and individual body size, rather than by phylogenetic relatedness. Vipers living in colder environments exhibited a higher VTmax, contradicting the hypothesis that environmental temperature is positively related to VTmax. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering local to regional adaptations and environmental conditions when studying thermal physiology and the evolution of thermal tolerance in ectotherms.

KW - thermal physiology

KW - environmental temperature

KW - bioclim

KW - CHELSA

KW - phylogenetic signal

KW - VTM

KW - VIpera ursinii

KW - Vipera renardi

U2 - 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad109

DO - 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad109

M3 - Article

JO - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

JF - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

SN - 0024-4082

ER -