Abstract

BUITRAGO-MONROY, Myriam Lorena; TURRIAGO-GONZALEZ, Jorge Luis  and  BERNAL-BAUTISTA, Manuel Hernando. Heart rate and molting frequency at different temperatures in two species of Colombian lizards, Anolis huilae and A. tolimensis (Squamata: Dactyloidae). Rev. acad. colomb. cienc. exact. fis. nat. [online]. 2020, vol.44, n.173, pp.1008-1017.  Epub July 02, 2021. ISSN 0370-3908.  https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.1168.

The heart rate and the molting frequency are two valuable parameters to determine the physiological state of animals, especially under the current environmental changes which are affecting their body temperature. Given the little information about these two physiological parameters in ectotherms, in this work, we determined the heart rate and molting frequency of the lizards Anolis huilae and A. tolimensis at three different temperatures under laboratory conditions, as well as their thermal sensitivity. The temperatures were 15, 20, and 25 °C for A. huilae and 17, 22, and 27 °C for A. tolimensis, selected according to the temperatures in the localities where they live in the department of Tolima: Juntas (A. huilae) and Llanitos (A. tolimensis). High temperatures increased the heart rate (A. huilae: from 53.3 beats per minute (bpm) at 17°C to 57.2 bpm at 27°C; A. tolimensis: from 45.1 bpm at 15°C to 50.6 bpm at 25°C) and decreased the molting frequency (A. huilae: from 135 days at 15°C to 38 days at 25°C; A. tolimensis: from 53 days at 17°C to 25 days at 27°C). Heart rate thermal sensitivity was low whereas the molting frequency was higher. As expected, increased environmental temperatures produced significant changes in animal functions that may be energetically expensive for the normal performance of lizards in natural conditions.

Keywords : Ecdysis; Heart rate; Lizards; Thermal environment; Tolima.

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