| thermal physiology explains the elevational range for a lizard, eutropis longicaudata, in taiwan. | 1: the decrease of temperatures along an elevation gradient imposes physiological constraints on reptiles that ultimately determine their distribution ranges. forest patterns are likely to interact with this process, but very few studies have examined their contribution in determining distribution limits. 2: we examined the role played by thermal physiology and forest cover in determining the elevational ranges of a lizard, eutropis longicaudata. we integrated this species' thermal traits in sim ... | 2020 | 33077141 |
| does maternal care evolve through egg recognition or directed territoriality? | the mechanism that facilitates the evolution of maternal care is ambiguous in egg-laying terrestrial vertebrates: does the ability of mothers to recognize their own eggs lead them under some circumstances to begin providing care or can maternal care evolve from simply being in close proximity to the eggs (e.g. through territorial behaviour)? this question is difficult to answer because in most species, parental care is either absent altogether or present; in only a few species we have the opport ... | 2011 | 21649766 |
| effects of intraguild predators on nest-site selection by prey. | nest-site selection involves tradeoffs between the risk of predation (on females and/or nests) and nest-site quality (microenvironment), and consequently suitable nesting sites are often in limited supply. interactions with "classical" predators (e.g., those not competing for shared resources) can strongly influence nest-site selection, but whether intraguild predation also influences this behavior is unknown. we tested whether risk of predation from an intraguild predator [the diurnal scincid l ... | 2012 | 21739239 |
| predation drives interpopulation differences in parental care expression. | expressing parental care after oviposition or parturition is usually an obligate (evolved) trait within a species, despite evolutionary theory predicting that widespread species should vary in whether or not they express parental care according to local selection pressures. the lizard eutropis longicaudata expresses maternal care only in a single population throughout its large geographical range, but why this pattern occurs is unknown. we used reciprocal translocation and predator exclusion exp ... | 2013 | 23237108 |
| surf and turf: predation by egg-eating snakes has led to the evolution of parental care in a terrestrial lizard. | animals display a great diversity of parental care tactics that ultimately enhance offspring survival, but how such behaviors evolve remains unknown for most systems. here, we studied the evolution of maternal care, in the form of nest guarding, in a single population of long-tailed sun skink (eutropis longicaudata) living on orchid island (taiwan). this species typically does not provide protection to its offspring. using a common garden experiment, we show that maternal care is genetically det ... | 2016 | 26915464 |