Configuration of the thermal landscape determines thermoregulatory performance of ectotherms

Authored by Jr Michael J Angilletta, Michael W Sears, Matthew S Schuler, Jason Borchert, Katherine F Dilliplane, Monica Stegman, Travis W Rusch, William A Mitchell

Date Published: 2016

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1604824113

Sponsors: United States National Science Foundation (NSF)

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Although most organisms thermoregulate behaviorally, biologists still cannot easily predict whether mobile animals will thermoregulate in natural environments. Current models fail because they ignore how the spatial distribution of thermal resources constrains thermoregulatory performance over space and time. To overcome this limitation, we modeled the spatially explicit movements of animals constrained by access to thermal resources. Our models predict that ectotherms thermoregulate more accurately when thermal resources are dispersed throughout space than when these resources are clumped. This prediction was supported by thermoregulatory behaviors of lizards in outdoor arenas with known distributions of environmental temperatures. Further, simulations showed how the spatial structure of the landscape qualitatively affects responses of animals to climate. Biologists will need spatially explicit models to predict impacts of climate change on local scales.

Tags

behavior time Climate-change Environments Species ranges Niche Cost-benefit model Evaluating thermoregulation Lizard diversity Reptiles