Zadravec et al. raw data and R code

Thermoregulation has a significant role in the life of many ectotherms, who mostly rely on external heat sources. Due to rapid fluctuations in thermal environment induced by global climate change, ectotherms face significant challenges. Reptilian thermoregulation has long been studied, with recent work exploring the impacts of climate change, but there are still many unknowns. Vipera ammodytes is a widely distributed snake in southeastern Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus that occupies various habitats and is an important mesopredator in the ecosystem. Yet, there is a severe gap of knowledge on its thermal ecology. To investigate the environmental adaptability of V. ammodytes in the context of climate change, we studied three populations of the northwestern clade within Croatia over five years. Neither location nor sex nor their interaction had a statistically significant influence on field body temperatures. Out of the variables explored in the analyses, air temperature was the only one important for snakes’ body temperature for all populations, while the influence of other variables was population-specific. Those variables were still shown to be important indicators of differences between the populations studied. This suggests V. ammodytes employs flexible thermoregulation strategies depending on their environment, which may prove essential in their survival in a rapidly changing thermal environment due to climate change. The differences in strategies need to be considered when planning and implementing conservation actions.