Climate Change Alters Skink's Birth Dates

Studies documenting the effects of climate change on animals, specifically reptiles, are starting to appear in the literature. Because reptiles are ectotherms they may be expected to exhibit a higher level of sensitivity to a changing climate than endotherms. ChloƩ Cadby from the University of Tasmania and colleagues used data from two populations of the viviparous Spotted Skink (Niveoscincus ocellatus). Spotted skinks are widespread in Tasmanian and the team used one montane population that was at 1200 m in elevation and another population that was at 30 m in elevation. The two populations are about 200 km apart and are at the climatic extremes of the species' distribution. Cadby et al. examined the effects of climate at a local, regional, and global scale on two key life history traits: offspring date of birth and size at birth. Overall, their results show that during nine year study period, local temperature had a major impact on the offspring date of birth but not on the size at birth. The average maximum temperature was a key predictor of date of birth but not of size at birth and higher average maximum temperatures during gestation resulted in earlier birth dates within both populations. The dates of birth in the mountain population were only minimally affected by the temperature. It seems probable that as climate change progresses, reptiles will be altering their life history traits in an attempt to adapt to a warming planet.

Cadby, C. D., G. M. While, A. J. Hobday, T. Uller, and E. Wapstra. 2010. Multi-scale approach to understanding climate effects on offspring size at birth and date of birth in a reptiles. Integrative Zoology 5:164-175.