Climate change effects on biodiversity: impacts of increased overwinter temperatures on UK reptiles

气候变化对生物多样性的影响：越冬气温升高对英国爬行动物的影响

• 批准号: 2737291
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Bangor University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2737291
• 关键词: Climate; change; effects; biodiversity; impacts

A comprehensive understanding of climate change effects on biodiversity would require a combination of knowledge from the impacts of increased overwinter and summer temperatures. However, existing studies are biased towards the effects of warm season getting warmer, though winter temperatures are increasing at a faster rate. Indeed, species' vulnerability to winter climate change has been rarely studied. Despite being a recent research track, existing studies on warming-winter effects on ectotherms (i.e. cold-blooded animals) revealed detrimental physiological effects that are unlikely to be observed in endotherms and somehow proved the vulnerability of terrestrial ectotherms. Ectotherms rely on ambient temperatures remaining within certain ranges to maintain critical physiological processes including growth and reproduction. As such, they are expected to react strongly to the thermal constraints imposed by climate change. Among ectotherms, reptiles are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in environmental conditions given their often-limited dispersal abilities. Therefore, they are more likely to suffer higher extinction rates than other taxa due to climatic change.The aim of the study is to investigate how rising winter temperatures affect the physiology and induce shift in the phenology and distribution of temperate reptiles. To accomplish this, we will use the invasive wall lizard (Podarcis muralis, which hibernates during winter), and collate long-term data on UK reptiles to examine: 1. Physiological and behavioural shift under experimental winter conditions: We will assess the physiological effects of warming winter on wall lizards by measuring their reproductive success and recording their hormonal and behavioural response under experimentally manipulated thermal conditions during hibernation. This will help us to understand the effects of this aspect of climate change on individual fitness. 2. Distribution shifts associated with historical patterns of winter warming: We will examine the association of past thermal shifts - focusing on periods of significant winter warming - with the distribution of reptiles in the UK, then model their distribution. This will help us understand how species populations will interact under future climate scenarios. 3. Phenological shift associated with historical patterns of winter warming: We will test the association of past winter-warming periods on changes in the hibernation period and breeding season of UK reptiles, and then develop phenology models. In conjunction with studying distribution shifts, this will help us identify species vulnerable to climate change and priority species that urgently require conservation action. In broad terms, this study will contribute to bringing a comprehensive knowledge on how species may respond to climate change, with a strong focus on increased overwinter temperature. It will bring additional information on the physiological effects of winter-warming on reptiles as well as the first information on behavioural effects. Moreover, it will document for the first time the phenological and distribution shift undergone by reptiles under mild wintering conditions. Such information is not presently included in estimates of future biodiversity loss under climate change but could be an important aspect to consider in predictions.

要全面了解气候变化对生物多样性的影响，就需要综合了解冬季和夏季气温升高的影响。然而，现有的研究偏向于暖季变暖的影响，尽管冬季气温上升的速度更快。事实上，物种对冬季气候变化的脆弱性很少被研究。尽管是最近的研究轨道，现有的研究暖冬效应对外温动物（即冷血动物）揭示了有害的生理影响，不太可能在恒温动物中观察到，并以某种方式证明了陆地外温动物的脆弱性。外温动物依靠保持在一定范围内的环境温度来维持关键的生理过程，包括生长和繁殖。因此，预计它们将对气候变化造成的热量限制作出强烈反应。在外温动物中，爬行动物特别容易受到环境条件快速变化的影响，因为它们的传播能力往往有限。因此，他们更有可能遭受更高的灭绝率比其他类群，由于气候变化。本研究的目的是调查冬季气温上升如何影响生理和诱导的变化，在温带爬行动物的物候和分布。为了实现这一点，我们将使用入侵墙蜥蜴（Podarcis muralis，在冬季冬眠），并整理英国爬行动物的长期数据来研究：1。实验冬季条件下的生理和行为转变：我们将通过测量它们的繁殖成功率并记录它们在冬眠期间实验操纵的热条件下的激素和行为反应来评估暖冬对墙蜥蜴的生理影响。这将有助于我们了解气候变化对个人健康的影响。2.与冬季变暖的历史模式相关的分布变化：我们将研究过去的热变化的关联-侧重于显着的冬季变暖的时期-与爬行动物在英国的分布，然后模拟它们的分布。这将有助于我们了解物种种群在未来气候情景下如何相互作用。3.与冬季变暖的历史模式相关的物候变化：我们将测试过去冬季变暖时期与英国爬行动物冬眠期和繁殖季节变化的关联，然后开发物候模型。结合研究分布变化，这将有助于我们确定易受气候变化影响的物种和迫切需要保护行动的优先物种。从广义上讲，这项研究将有助于全面了解物种如何应对气候变化，重点关注越冬温度的升高。它将带来关于冬季变暖对爬行动物生理影响的更多信息，以及关于行为影响的第一批信息。此外，它将首次记录爬行动物在温和的越冬条件下经历的物候和分布转变。这些信息目前没有包括在气候变化下未来生物多样性损失的估计中，但可能是预测中考虑的一个重要方面。