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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Thermal specialization limits evolutionary responses to climate warming in lizards.

Gabriela Poblete Ahumada¹, Enrico L Rezende¹, Ignacio Peralta-Maraver^2,3

¹Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Biology Letters

|March 17, 2026

Summary

Ectothermic animals like lizards show evolutionary adaptations to warmer climates, but specialists may struggle with extreme heat. This impacts their ability to adapt to future climate warming.

Keywords:

global warming hotter-is-better hypothesis lizards locomotor performance thermal performance curves

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Last Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

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Published on: March 9, 2021

Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block

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Published on: November 18, 2022

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Published on: June 15, 2020

Area of Science:

Zoology
Climate Change Biology
Physiological Ecology

Background:

Predicting biodiversity responses to climate warming requires understanding ectotherm performance.
Ectotherms' physiological performance is strongly influenced by temperature.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how lizard sprint speed performance is shaped by thermal adaptation and evolutionary history.
To test the hotter-is-better hypothesis and explore trade-offs in thermal performance.

Main Methods:

Compiled sprint speed data for 85 lizard species.
Fitted mechanistic thermal performance curves (TPCs) incorporating enzymatic and protein stability.
Analyzed physiological traits derived from TPCs in relation to body size, thermal environment, and phylogeny.

Main Results:

Species from warmer climates had higher optimal temperatures and maximal performance (supporting hotter-is-better).
Warm-adapted specialists exhibited narrower thermal breadth and steeper performance decline at high temperatures compared to cold-adapted species.
Evolutionary history significantly influences thermal performance traits.

Conclusions:

Lizard performance is tuned to current thermal environments through evolutionary processes.
An evolutionary trade-off exists between specialization and generalization in thermal performance.
Current adaptations may limit lizards' adaptive potential to future rapid climate warming.