Evolutionary transitions in body plan and reproductive mode alter maintenance metabolism in squamates

Energy (resources) acquired by animals should be allocated towards competing demands, maintenance, growth, reproduction and fat storage. Reproduction has the second lowest priority in energy allocation and only is allowed after meeting the energetic demands for maintenance and growth. This hierarchical allocation of energy suggests the hypothesis that species or taxa with high maintenance costs would be less likely to invest more energy in reproduction or to evolve an energetically more expensive mode of reproduction. Here, we used data on standard metabolic rate so far reported for 196 species of squamates to test this hypothesis.

We found that maintenance costs were lower in snakes than in lizards, and that the costs were lower in viviparous species than in oviparous species. As snakes generally invest more energy per reproductive episode than lizards, and viviparity is an energetically more expensive mode of reproduction than oviparity, our results are consistent with the hypothesis tested.

The transition from lizard-like to snake-like body form and the transition from oviparity to viviparity are major evolutionary transitions in vertebrates, which likely alter many aspects of biology of the organisms involved. Our study is the first to demonstrate that evolutionary transitions in body plan and reproductive mode alter maintenance metabolism in squamates.