Water supplementation affects the behavioral and physiological ecology of Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) in the Sonoran desert

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

Volumn 82, Issue 6, 2009, Pages 739-748

  Davis, Jon R ^a,b   DeNardo, Dale F ^a  

^a ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b MEMPHIS ZOO   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ACTIVITY PATTERN; BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY; BEHAVIORAL RESPONSE; DESERT; DROUGHT; FOOD AVAILABILITY; LIPID; LIZARD; PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE; RAINFALL; SEASONALITY; WATER AVAILABILITY;

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE; ANIMAL; ANIMAL BEHAVIOR; ARTICLE; BODY CONSTITUTION; CLIMATE; DESERT CLIMATE; DRINKING; LIZARD; MOTOR ACTIVITY; OSMOLARITY; PHYSIOLOGY; TELEMETRY; UNITED STATES;

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE; ANIMALS; ARIZONA; BEHAVIOR, ANIMAL; BODY CONSTITUTION; CLIMATE; DESERT CLIMATE; DRINKING; LIZARDS; MOTOR ACTIVITY; OSMOLAR CONCENTRATION; TELEMETRY;

SONORAN DESERT;

ANIMALIA; HELODERMA SUSPECTUM; HELODERMATIDAE; SQUAMATA;

EID: 73449136873     PISSN: 15222152     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1086/605933     Document Type: Article

References (74)

1. Angilletta M. J. and A. R. Krochmal. 2003. The thermochron: a truly miniature and inexpensive temperature-logger. Herpetol Rev 34:31-32.
2. Banks P. B. and C. R. Dickman. 2000. Effects of winter food supplementation on reproduction, body mass, and numbers of small mammals in montane Australia. Can J Zool 78:1775-1783.
3. Banta M. R. 2003. Merriam's kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami) voluntarily select temperatures that conserve energy rather than water. Physiol Biochem Zool 76:522-532.
4. Beck D. D. 1990. Ecology and behavior of the Gila monster in southwestern Utah. J Herpetol 24:54-68.
5. -. 2005. The Biology of Gila Monsters and Beaded Lizards. University of California Press, Berkeley.
6. Beck D. D. and R. D. Jennings. 2003. Habitat use by Gila monsters: the importance of shelters. Herpetol Monogr 17:111-129.
7. Beck D. D. and C. H. Lowe. 1994. Resting metabolism of helodermatid lizards: allometric and ecological relationships. J Comp Physiol B 164:124-129.
8. Bigler W. J. 1974. Seasonal movements and activity patterns of the collared peccary. J Mammal 55:851-855.
9. Blouin-Demers G. and P. J. Weatherhead. 2001. An experimental test of the link between foraging, habitat selection and thermoregulation in black rat snakes Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta. J Anim Ecol 70:1006-1013.
10. Bogert C. M. and R. Martín del Campo. 1956. The Gila monster and its allies: the relationships, habits, and behavior of the lizards of the family Helodermatidae. Bull Am Mus Nat Hist 109:1-238.
11. Boutin S. 1990. Food supplementation experiments with terrestrial vertebrates: patterns, problems, and the future. Can J Zool 68:203-220.
12. Chamaille-Jammes S., H. Fritz, M. Valeix, F. Murinadagomo, and J. Clobert. 2007. Resource variability, aggregation and direct density dependence in an open context: the local regulation of an African elephant population. J Anim Ecol 77:135-144.
13. Chesson P., R. L. E. Gebauer, S. Schwinning, N. Huntly, K. Wiegand, M. S. K. Ernest, A. Sher, A. Novoplansky, and J. F. Weltzin. 2004. Resource pulses, species interactions, and diversity maintenance in arid and semi-arid environments. Oecologia 141:236-253.
14. Coe S. J. and J. T. Rotenberry. 2003. Water availability affects clutch size in a desert sparrow. Ecology 84:3240-3249.
15. Daltry J. C., T. Ross, R. S. Thorpe, and W. Wuster. 1998. Evidence that humidity influences snake activity patterns: a field study of the Malayan pit viper Calloselasma rhodostoma. Ecography 21:25-34.
16. Davis J. R. and D. F. DeNardo. 2007. The urinary bladder as a physiological reservoir that moderates dehydration in a large desert lizard, the Gila monster Heloderma suspectum. J Exp Biol 210:1472-1480.
17. -. 2008. Water storage compromises endurance in an active forager: evidence of a trade-off between osmoregulation and locomotor performance. J Comp Physiol A 194:713-718.
18. -. 2010. Seasonal patterns of body condition, hydration state, and activity of Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) at a Sonoran Desert site. J Herpetol (forthcoming).
19. Davis J. R., E. N. Taylor, and D. F. DeNardo. 2008. An automated temperature-based option for estimating surface activity and refuge use patterns in free-ranging animals. J Arid Environ 72:1414-1422.
20. Degen A. A. 1997. Ecophysiology of Small Desert Mammals. 1st ed. Springer, Berlin.
21. DeNardo D. F., T. E. Zubal, and T. C. M. Hoffman. 2004. Cloacal evaporative cooling: a previously undescribed means of increasing evaporative water loss at higher temperatures in a desert ectotherm, the Gila monster, Heloderma suspectum. J Exp Biol 207:945-953.
22. Dmi'el R. 1972. Effect of activity and temperature on metabolism and water loss in snakes. Am J Physiol 223:510-516.
23. Duda J. J., A. J. Krzysik, and J. E. Freillich. 1999. Effects of drought on desert tortoise movement and activity. J Wildl Manage 63:1181-1192.
24. Dunham A. E. 1978. Food availability as a proximate factor influencing individual growth rates in the iguanid lizard Sceloperus merriami. Ecology 59:770-778.
25. Eifler D. A. 1996. Experimental manipulation of spacing patterns in the widely foraging lizard Cnemidophorus uniparens. Herpetologica 52:477-486.
26. Eisen L., R. J. Eisen, and R. S. Lane. 2002. Seasonal activity patterns of Ixodes pacificus nymphs in relation to climate variation. Med Vet Entomol 16:235-244.
27. El-Bakry H. A., W. M. Zahran, and T. J. Bartness. 1999. Control of reproductive and energetic status by environmental cues in a desert rodent, Shaw's jird. Physiol Behav 66:657-666.
28. Field K. J., C. R. Tracy, P. A. Medica, R. W. Marlow, and P. S. Corn. 2007. Return to the wild: translocation as a tool in conservation of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Biol Conserv 136:232-245.
29. Floater G. J. 1997. Rainfall, nitrogen, and host plant condition: consequences for the processionary caterpillar, Ochrogaster lunifer. Ecol Entomol 22:247-255.
30. Gallardo L. I. 2003. The Role of Thermal Biology on Home Range Ecology and Refuge Use in Gila Monsters. MS thesis. Arizona State University, Tempe.
31. Ghosh P. K. 1975. Thermoregulation and water economy in Indian desert rodents. Pp. 397-412 in I. Prakash and P. K. Ghosh, eds. Rodents in Desert Environments. Springer, The Hague.
32. Grant P. R., R. Grant, L. F. Keller, and K. Petren. 2000. Effects of El Nino events on Darwin's finch productivity. Ecology 81:2442-2457.
33. Henen B. T., C. C. Peterson, I. R. Wallis, K. H. Berry, and K. A. Nagy. 1998. Effects of climate variation on field metabolism and water relations of desert tortoises. Oecologia 117:365-373.
34. Jennsen T. A. and R. M. Andrews. 1984. Seasonal growth rates of the Jamaican lizard, Anolis opalinus. J Herpetol 18:338-341.
35. Jones S. M., S. R. Waldschmidt, and M. A. Potvin. 1987. An experimental manipulation of food and water: growth and time-space utilization of hatchling lizards. Oecologia 73:53-59.
36. Kam M. and A. A. Degen. 1994. Body-mass at birth and growthrate of fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus) pups: effect of litter size and water-content of Atriplex halimus consumed by pregnant and lactating females. Funct Ecol 8:351-357.
37. Kreiter N. A. and D. H. Wise. 2001. Prey availability limits fecundity and influences the movement pattern of female fishing spiders. Oecologia 127:417-424.
38. Ladyman M. and D. Bradshaw. 2003. The influence of dehydration on thermal preferences of the Western tiger snake, Notechis scutatus. J Comp Physiol B 173:239-246.
39. Langlands P. R., K. E. C. Brennan, and D. J. Pearson. 2006. Spiders, spinifex, rainfall, and fire: long-term changes in an arid spider assemblage. J Arid Environ 67:36-59.
40. Littell R. C., G. A. Milliken, W. W. Stroup, and R. D. Wolfinger. 1996. SAS System for Mixed Models. SAS Institute, Cary, NC.
41. Lorenzon P., J. Colbert, A. Oppliger, and H. John-Alder. 1999. Effect of water constraint on growth rate, activity, and body temperature of yearling common lizard (Lacerta vivpara). Oecologia 118:423-430.
42. Lowe C. H., C. R. Schwalbe, and T. B. Johnson. 1986. The venomous lizards. Pp. 7-19 in The Venomous Reptiles of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix.
43. Madsen T., B. Ujvari, R. Shine, and M. Olsson. 2006. Rain, rats, and pythons: climate-driven population dynamics of predators and prey in tropical Australia. Aust Ecol 31:30-37.
44. Mautz W. J. 1982. Patterns of evaporative water loss. Pp. 443-481 in C. Gans, ed. Biology of the Reptilia. Vol. 12. Academic Press, New York.
45. McClanahan L. L. 1967. Adaptations of the spadefoot toad, Scaphiopus couchi, to desert environments. Comp Biochem Physiol 20:73-99.
46. McCluney K. E. and R. C. Date. 2008. The effects of hydration on growth of the house cricket, Acheta domesticus. J Insect Sci 8:1-9.
47. Meserve P. L., D. A. Kelt, W. B. Milstead, and J. R. Gutierrez. 2003. Thirteen years of shifting top-down and bottom-up control. Bioscience 53:633-646.
48. Minnich J. E. 1976. Water procurement and conservation by desert reptiles in their natural environment. Isr J Med Sci 12:740-758.
49. Nagy K. A. and P. A. Medica. 1986. Physiological ecology of desert tortoises in southern Nevada. Herpetologica 42:73-92.
50. Noy-Meir I. 1973. Desert ecosystems: environment and producers. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 5:195-214.
51. Orland M. C. and D. A. Kelt. 2007. Responses of a heteromyid rodent community to large-and small-scale resource pulses: diversity, abundance, and home-range dynamics. J Mammal 88:1280-1287.
52. Pelletier L. and J. N. McNeil. 2003. The effect of food supplementation on reproductive success in bumblebee colonies. Oikos 103:688-694.
53. Peterson C. C. 1996a. Anhomeostasis: seasonal water and solute relations in two populations of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) during chronic drought. Physiol Zool 69:1324-1358.
54. -. 1996b. Ecological energetics of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii): effects of rainfall and drought. Ecology 77:1831-1844.
55. Polis G. A., ed. 1990. The Biology of Scorpions. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
56. Reichman O. J. and K. M. Van de Graaf. 1973. Seasonal activity and reproductive patterns of five species of Sonoran Desert rodents. Am Midl Nat 90:118-126.
57. Schoech S. J., E. S. Bridge, R. K. Boughton, S. J. Reynolds, J. W. Atwell, and R. Bowman. 2008. Food supplementation: a tool to increase reproductive output? a case study in the threatened Florida scrub-jay. Biol Conserv 141:162-173.
58. Schoech S. J. and T. P. Hahn. 2007. Food supplementation and timing of reproduction: does the responsiveness to supplementary information vary with latitude? J Ornithol 148:625-632.
59. Sears M. W. and M. J. Angilletta. 2003. Life-history variation in the sagebrush lizard: phenotypic plasticity or local adaptation? Ecology 84:1624-1634.
60. Sexton O. J. and H. Heatwole. 1968. An experimental investigation of habitat selection and water loss in some anoline lizards. Ecology 49:762-767.
61. Shine R. and G. P. Brown. 2008. Adapting to the unpredictable: reproductive biology of vertebrates in the Australian wet-dry Tropics. Philos Trans R Soc B 363:363-373.
62. Shochat E., P. S. Warren, S. H. Faeth, N. E. McIntyre, and D. Hope. 2006. From patterns to emerging processes in mechanistic ecology. Trends Ecol Ecol 21:186-191.
63. Shoemaker V. H. and K. A. Nagy. 1977. Osmoregulation in amphibians and reptiles. Pp. 449-471 in E. Knobil, ed. Annual Review of Physiology. Vol. 39. Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, CA.
64. Small T. W., P. J. Sharp, and P. Deviche. 2007. Environmental regulation of the reproductive system in a flexibly breeding Sonoran Desert bird, the rufous-winged sparrow, Aimophila carpalis. Horm Behav 51:483-495.
65. Stamps J. and S. Tanaka. 1981. The influence of food and water on growth rates in a tropical lizard (Anolis aeneus). Ecology 62:33-40.
66. Sullivan B. K. and P. J. Fernandez. 1999. Breeding activity, estimated age structure, and growth in Sonoran Desert anurans. Herpetologica 55:334-343.
67. Taylor E. N., D. F. DeNardo, and M. A. Malawy. 2004. A comparison between point-and semi-continuous sampling for assessing body temperature in a free-ranging ectotherm. J Therm Biol 29:91-96.
68. Taylor E. N., M. A. Malawy, D. M. Browning, S. V. Lamar, and D. F. DeNardo. 2005. Effects of food supplementation on the physiological ecology of female Western diamond-backed rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox). Oecologia 144:206-213.
69. Tracy C. R., K. E. Nussear, T. C. Esque, K. Dean-Bradley, C. R. Tracy, L. A. DeFalco, K. T. Castle, L. C. Zimmerman, R. E. Espinoza, and A. M. Barber. 2006. The importance of physiological ecology in conservation biology. Integr Comp Biol 46:1191-1205.
70. Ward D. and R. Slotow. 1991. The effects of water availability on the life history of the desert snail, Trochoidea seetzeni. Oecologia 90:572-580.
71. Waser P. 1975. Monthly variations in feeding and activity patterns of the mangabey, Cercocebus albigena (Lydekker). Afr J Ecol 13:249-263.
72. Wikelski M. and S. J. Cooke. 2006. Conservation physiology. Trends Ecol Evol 21:38-46.
73. Yahr P. and S. Kessler. 1975. Suppression of reproduction in water-deprived Mongolian gerbils. Biol Reprod 12:249-254.
74. Zar J. H. 1999. Biostatistical Analysis. 4th ed. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.