Can newts cope with the heat? Disparate thermoregulatory strategies of two sympatric species in water

Many ectotherms effectively reduce their exposure to low or high environmental temperatures using behavioral thermoregulation. In terrestrial ectotherms, thermoregulatory strategies range from accurate thermoregulation to thermoconformity according to the costs and limits of thermoregulation, while in aquatic taxa the quantification of behavioral thermoregulation have received limited attention. We examined thermoregulation in two sympatric newt species, Ichthyosaura alpestris and Lissotriton vulgaris, exposed to elevated water temperatures under semi-natural conditions. According to a recent theory, we predicted that species for which elevated water temperatures pose a lower thermal quality habitat, would thermoregulate more effectively than species in thermally benign conditions. In the laboratory thermal gradient, L. vulgaris maintained higher body temperatures than I. alpestris. Semi-natural thermal conditions provided better thermal quality of habitat for L. vulgaris than for I. al...

许多变温动物（ectotherms）通过行为性体温调节有效减少自身暴露于极端高低温环境的时间。对于陆地变温动物而言，其体温调节策略根据调节成本与限制，可从精准体温调节延伸至体温顺应性（thermoconformity）；然而在水生类群中，行为性体温调节的量化研究却鲜少受到关注。本研究在半自然条件下，探究了两种同域分布的蝾螈物种——阿尔卑斯欧螈（Ichthyosaura alpestris）与普通 Lissotriton（Lissotriton vulgaris）——在水温升高环境中的体温调节行为。依据最新理论，我们推测：对于水温升高会导致栖息地热质量降低的物种，其体温调节效率将高于处于热环境适宜条件下的物种。