Colour-driven activity adjustments mediate thermoregulation in sand lizards

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985904%3A_____%2F25%3A00638967" target="_blank" >RIV/67985904:_____/25:00638967 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/68081766:_____/25:00638967 RIV/00216224:14310/25:00142064

Result on the web

<a href="https://bioone.org/journalArticle/Download?urlId=10.25225%2Fjvb.25046" target="_blank" >https://bioone.org/journalArticle/Download?urlId=10.25225%2Fjvb.25046</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.25225/jvb.25046" target="_blank" >10.25225/jvb.25046</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Colour-driven activity adjustments mediate thermoregulation in sand lizards

Original language description

Animal colouration serves multiple functions, including camouflage, communication , thermoregulation, is shaped by the trade-offs between these roles. In ectotherms, which primarily regulate body temperature through behaviour, colour can influence how much heat they absorb from the environment. The thermal melanism hypothesis predicts that darker individuals heat up faster than lighter ones, particularly in basking species, but the role of colour in thermoregulation is complex and context-dependent. Although ectotherms rely mainly on behaviour for thermoregulation, colour may modulate heat absorption. Here, we tested how environmental and biotic factors influence body temperature and activity timing in sand lizards (Lacerta agilis). We collected body temperature data and dorsal colouration measurements from two populations in Czechia and used structural equation modelling to disentangle direct and indirect effects. Environmental temperature was the strongest predictor of body temperature, showing a positive effect, whereas body size and site had negative effects. Colouration did not directly affect body temperature but significantly influenced activity timing, with darker and more saturated individuals emerging earlier in the day. This result suggests that colour-mediated thermoregulation in sand lizards is primarily behavioural, shaping basking opportunities rather than passively dictating heat gain. Our findings demonstrate how environmental, morphological, and behavioural factors collectively shape lizard thermoregulation, with colour primarily influencing activity timing rather than directly affecting body temperature.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10613 - Zoology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Vertebrate Biology

ISSN

2694-7684

e-ISSN

2694-7684

Volume of the periodical

74

Issue of the periodical within the volume

25046

Country of publishing house

CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

25046

UT code for WoS article

001564968100001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105021116378