Habitat management alters thermal opportunity

1. Ectotherms engage in behavioral thermoregulation to optimize body temperatures, however, thermoregulatory effort varies across species, over time, and among habitats. Classic cost-benefit models of ectothermic thermoregulation postulate that ectotherms should increase thermoregulatory effort when the benefits of thermoregulatory behavior outweigh the costs (Huey and Slatkin, 1976). However, alteration of habitat via land management may lead to unforeseen shifts in microclimate that change associated costs and benefits. In light of anthropogenic impacts on natural habitats, thermoregulatory effort should be examined in cases where land management results in environmental temperatures that deviate from the preferred temperature range of a given species. 2. We examined how habitat management alters microclimates and influences activity time, thermoregulatory behavior, and thermal physiology in a lizard (Sceloporus woodi) whose range has been significantly reduced due to habitat loss. W...