Data from: Effects of food intake and hydration state on behavioral thermoregulation and locomotor activity in the tropidurid lizard Tropidurus catalanensis

Theoretical models predict that lizards adjust their body temperature
through behavioral thermoregulation as a function of food availability.
However, behavioral thermoregulation is also governed by interactions
among physiological and ecological factors other than food availability,
such as hydration state, and sometimes it can even conflict with the
locomotor activity of animals. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of
food intake and hydration state on behavioral thermoregulation and
voluntary locomotor activity in the lizard Tropidurus catalanensis. We
hypothesized that food intake can influence behavioral thermoregulation
via an interaction with hydration state.We also hypothesized that lizards
should endeavor to spend as little time as possible to reach their
preferred body temperature to defend other physiological and/or ecological
functions. We collected lizards in the field and brought them to the
laboratory to measure the preferred temperature selected in a thermal
gradient and the total distance traveled by them in fed and unfed
conditions and with variable hydration state. Our results showed that food
consumption was the most important predictor of preferred temperature. In
contrast, either the hydration state alone or its interaction with food
consumption did not have important effects on the lizards’ thermal
preference. Also, we found that the total distance traveled by lizards was
not affected by food intake and was barely affected by the hydration
state. We provide an experimental approach and a robust analysis of the
factors that influence behavioral thermoregulation and locomotor activity
in a tropical lizard.