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1. Are ectotherm brains vulnerable to global warming?

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Iván Beltrán; Suzana Herculano-Houzel; Barry Sinervo;     Show all 4 Authors
Source:
Trends in ecology & evolution 2021 v.36 no.8 pp. 691-699
ISSN:
0169-5347
Subject:
brain; ecology; ectothermy; evolution; neurons; temperature
Abstract:
... Elevated temperatures during development affect a wide range of traits in ectotherms. Less well understood is the impact of global warming on brain development, which has only rarely been studied experimentally. Here, we evaluate current progress in the field and search for common response patterns among ectotherm groups. Evidence suggests that temperature may have a positive effect on neuronal ac ...
DOI:
10.1016/j.tree.2021.04.009

2. Do lizards have enhanced inhibition? A test in two species differing in ecology and sociobiology

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Birgit Szabo;     Show all 2 Author
Source:
Behavioural processes 2020 v.172 pp. 104043
ISSN:
0376-6357
Subject:
Tiliqua scincoides; animal adaptation; animal behavior; biological speciation; cognition; feeding behavior; learning; lizards; probability
Abstract:
... Waiting for the right moment to strike, avoiding the ingestion of harmful foods, or ignoring stimuli associated with ephemeral or depleted resources requires the inhibition of prepotent responses. Good response inhibition facilities flexibility in behaviour which is associated with survival in unpredictable environments. To investigate differences in behavioural flexibility in lizards, we tested r ...
DOI:
10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104043

3. Superior continuous quantity discrimination in a freshwater turtle

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Feng-Chun Lin; Ming-Ying Hsieh; Pei-Jen Lee Shaner; Si-Min Lin;     Show all 5 Authors
Source:
Frontiers in zoology 2021 v.18 no.1 pp. 49
ISSN:
1742-9994
Subject:
Mauremys sinensis; animal behavior; cognition; endothermy; species diversity; turtles
Abstract:
... BACKGROUND: Quantity discrimination, the ability to discriminate a magnitude of difference or discrete numerical information, plays a key role in animal behavior. While quantitative ability has been well documented in fishes, birds, mammals, and even in previously unstudied invertebrates and amphibians, it is still poorly understood in reptiles and has never been tested in an aquatic turtle despit ...
DOI:
10.1186/s12983-021-00431-y

4. Social and spatial patterns of two Afromontane crag lizards (Pseudocordylus spp.) in the Maloti‐Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Julia L. Riley; James H. Baxter‐Gilbert;     Show all 3 Authors
Source:
Austral ecology 2021 v.46 no.5 pp. 847-859
ISSN:
1442-9985
Subject:
Cordylidae; body size; color; conspecificity; females; habitats; natural history; phylogeny; polygyny; sexual dimorphism; social behavior; social structure; Australia; South Africa
Abstract:
... Understanding the evolution of vertebrate sociality requires comparative data on social associations across the vertebrate phylogeny. In the case of group‐living lizards (i.e. species that live in stable social aggregations often associated with a shared resource), most work has focused on the Egerniinae in Australia, resulting in a taxonomic and geographic skew to our understanding of reptile soc ...
DOI:
10.1111/aec.13030

5. Characterisation and cross-amplification of sex-specific genetic markers in Australasian Egerniinae lizards and their implications for understanding the evolution of sex determination and social complexity

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Alix Bouffet-Halle; Weizhao Yang; Michael G. Gardner; Erik Wapstra; Tobias Uller; Geoffrey M. While;     Show all 7 Authors
Source:
Australian journal of zoology 2022 v.69 no.2 pp. 33-40
ISSN:
0004-959X
Subject:
DNA; Egernia; evolution; genomics; lizards; phenotypic variation; sex determination; social behavior; zoology
Abstract:
... Sex is a pervasive factor that underpins functional phenotypic variation across a range of traits. Although sex can usually be distinguished morphologically, in some species this is not possible. The development of genetic markers for sex identification is, thus, key if we are to incorporate sex into an understanding of ecological or evolutionary process. Here we develop genetic markers for the id ...
DOI:
10.1071/ZO21023

6. Shrinking into the big city: influence of genetic and environmental factors on urban dragon lizard morphology and performance capacity

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; James Baxter-Gilbert; Julia L. Riley; Celine H. Frère;     Show all 4 Authors
Source:
Urban ecosystems 2021 v.24 no.4 pp. 661-674
ISSN:
1083-8155
Subject:
adults; body size; lizards; phenotypic plasticity; wildlife; yearlings
Abstract:
... Urban wildlife faces a novel set of challenges resulting in selective pressure that can lead to population-level changes. We studied Australian water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii) from urban and natural populations to test if urban populations differed in body size, shape, and performance capacity. If urban-derived morphology has arisen through selection, we predicted distinct morphological diff ...
DOI:
10.1007/s11252-020-01065-4

7. Are lizards capable of inhibitory control? Performance on a semi-transparent version of the cylinder task in five species of Australian skinks

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Birgit Szabo; Sebastian Hoefer;     Show all 3 Authors
Source:
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2020 v.74 no.10 pp. 118
ISSN:
0340-5443
Subject:
Egernia stokesii; Tiliqua; body condition; cognition; evolution; lizards; motivation; sociobiology; trees
Abstract:
... Inhibitory control, the inhibition of prepotent actions, is essential for higher-order cognitive processes such as planning, reasoning, and self-regulation. Individuals and species differ in inhibitory control. Identifying what influences inhibitory control ability within and between species is key to understanding how it evolved. We compared performance in the cylinder task across five lizard spe ...
DOI:
10.1007/s00265-020-02897-y

8. Sexual selection on performance traits in an Australian lizard with alternative reproductive tactics

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Daniel W. A. Noble; Fonti Kar; Shinichi Nakagawa; J. Scott Keogh;     Show all 5 Authors
Source:
Journal of evolutionary biology 2021 v.34 no.3 pp. 451-464
ISSN:
1010-061X
Subject:
lizards; reproductive success; sexual selection
Abstract:
... Sexual selection shapes the adaptive landscape in complex ways that lead to trait integration. Much of our understanding of selection comes from studies of morphological traits. However, few studies attempt to quantify the form and direction of selection on performance even though it is predicted to be a more direct target of selection in nature. We measured sexual selection on performance traits ...
DOI:
10.1111/jeb.13752

9. Effects of early thermal environment on the behavior and learning of a lizard with bimodal reproduction

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Iván Beltrán; Rebecca Loiseleur; Victorien Durand;     Show all 4 Authors
Source:
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2020 v.74 no.6 pp. 73
ISSN:
0340-5443
Subject:
abnormal behavior; antipredatory behavior; breeding season; cold; ecology; extinction; life history; lizards; maternal behavior; ovipary; oviposition; phenotype; pregnancy; progeny; reproductive behavior; risk; sociobiology
Abstract:
... Early developmental temperatures influence the physiology and behavior of reptiles, with important consequences for their fitness and survival. For example, many viviparous lizards are cold adapted which may restrict their activity times during the reproductive season, increasing their susceptibility to global warming. However, it is unclear if and how lizards with different reproductive modes (ov ...
DOI:
10.1007/s00265-020-02849-6

10. Bold New World: urbanization promotes an innate behavioral trait in a lizard

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; James Baxter-Gilbert; Julia L. Riley;     Show all 3 Authors
Source:
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2019 v.73 no.8 pp. 105
ISSN:
0340-5443
Subject:
behavior change; eggs; habitats; landscapes; lizards; maternal effect; mothers; rearing; urban areas; urban population; urbanization; variance
Abstract:
... Urban environments are novel landscapes that markedly alter animal behavior. Divergence in behavior in response to urbanization may provide advantages in navigation, exploiting resources, and surviving under a novel suite of selective pressures. Relatively few studies, however, have identified population-level behavioral changes in response to urbanization that are not confounded by rearing enviro ...
DOI:
10.1007/s00265-019-2713-9

11. Sperm cryopreservation in an Australian skink (Eulamprus quoyii)

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Rebecca J. Hobbs; Rose Upton; Leesa Keogh; Karen James; James Baxter-Gilbert;     Show all 6 Authors
Source:
Reproduction, fertility, and development 2021 v.34 no.5 pp. 428-437
ISSN:
1031-3613
Subject:
adults; cryopreservation; cryoprotectants; dimethyl sulfoxide; glycerol; herpetofauna; males; massage; poultry; semen extenders; spermatozoa
Abstract:
... Assisted reproductive technologies for population and genetic management for threatened herpetofauna have grown substantially in the past decade. Here we describe experiments to optimise sperm cryopreservation in a model squamate, the eastern water skink Eulamprus quoyii . Small, concentrated volumes of highly motile spermatozoa were reliably collected from adult male E. quoyii by non-lethal ventr ...
DOI:
10.1071/RD21031

12. Getting ahead: exploitative competition by an invasive lizard

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Isabel Damas-Moreira; Julia L. Riley; Miguel A. Carretero; D. James Harris;     Show all 5 Authors
Source:
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2020 v.74 no.10 pp. 117
ISSN:
0340-5443
Subject:
Podarcis; aggression; conspecificity; food consumption; indigenous species; introduced species; invasive species; sociobiology; sympatry; wall lizards; Portugal
Abstract:
... Biological invasions are a contemporary global threat because invasive species can have substantial negative economic and ecological impacts. Invasive species can outcompete native species through two main mechanisms: interference competition (direct, negative interactions like aggression) and/or exploitative competition (indirect, negative interactions resulting from species using the same, limit ...
DOI:
10.1007/s00265-020-02893-2

13. Sex-dependent discrimination learning in lizards: A meta-analysis

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Birgit Szabo; Daniel W.A. Noble;     Show all 3 Authors
Source:
Behavioural processes 2019 v.164 pp. 10-16
ISSN:
0376-6357
Subject:
cognition; experimental design; females; gender differences; learning; lizards; males; meta-analysis
Abstract:
... We have a poor understanding of differences in learning performance between male and female non-avian reptiles compared to other vertebrates. Learning studies in non-avian reptiles have greatly increased in the last 10 years providing an opportunity to test for sex-based learning using a meta-analysis. Although, we initially considered all reptiles, only lizard studies (N = 11) provided sufficient ...
DOI:
10.1016/j.beproc.2019.04.002

14. The driving forces behind female-female aggression and its fitness consequence in an Asian agamid lizard

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Yayong Wu; Jinzhong Fu; Yin Qi;     Show all 4 Authors
Source:
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2019 v.73 no.6 pp. 73
ISSN:
0340-5443
Subject:
Phrynocephalus vlangalii; aggression; breeding season; energy; females; food availability; home range; lizards; males; outdoor enclosures; progeny; sexual selection; winter
Abstract:
... Female-female aggression and its effect on fitness are poorly understood compared to male-male aggression. We quantified female-female aggression in the viviparous toad-headed agama, Phrynocephalus vlangalii, and tested the mate limitation and resource competition hypotheses, to explain the driving forces behind heightened female-female aggression. We established populations in outdoor enclosures ...
DOI:
10.1007/s00265-019-2686-8

15. Precocial juvenile lizards show adult level learning and behavioural flexibility

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Birgit Szabo; Daniel W.A. Noble; Richard W. Byrne; David S. Tait;     Show all 5 Authors
Source:
Animal behaviour 2019 v.154 pp. 75-84
ISSN:
0003-3472
Subject:
Tiliqua scincoides; adults; age structure; animal behavior; brain; cognition; early development; juveniles; learning; lizards; sexual maturity
Abstract:
... In altricial species, young rely on parental care and brain maturation mainly occurs after birth. In precocial species, young are born at a more advanced developmental stage in need of less or no parental care and brain development is mostly completed at the time of birth. We therefore predicted early maturation of learning ability in precocial species. We used a series of visual discrimination an ...
DOI:
10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.003

16. Can behaviour explain invasion success? A comparison between sympatric invasive and native lizards

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Isabel Damas-Moreira; Julia L. Riley; D. James Harris;     Show all 4 Authors
Source:
Animal behaviour 2019 v.151 pp. 195-202
ISSN:
0003-3472
Subject:
Podarcis; animal behavior; colonizing ability; ecological invasion; indigenous species; invasive species; sympatry; wall lizards
Abstract:
... To reduce the impact of biological invasions, we need to understand the behavioural mechanisms that enable some species to be successful invaders. Testing differences in behaviour between sympatric congeneric species with different invasive potential is an opportunity to study specific behavioural traits associated with invasion success. Using the invasive Italian wall lizard, Podarcis sicula, and ...
DOI:
10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.03.008

17. Effects of rearing environment and population origin on responses to repeated behavioural trials in cane toads (Rhinella marina)

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Jodie Gruber; Gregory Brown; Richard Shine;     Show all 4 Authors
Source:
Behavioural processes 2018 v.153 pp. 40-46
ISSN:
0376-6357
Subject:
Rhinella marina; captive animals; rearing; toads
Abstract:
... Behavioural responses to repeated trials in captivity can be driven by many factors including rearing environment, population of origin, habituation to captivity/trial conditions and an individual’s behavioural type (e.g., bold versus shy). We tested the effect of rearing environment (captive raised common-garden versus wild-caught) and population origin (range-edge versus range-front) on the resp ...
DOI:
10.1016/j.beproc.2018.05.001

18. Runners and fighters: clutch effects and body size drive innate antipredator behaviour in hatchling lizards

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; James Baxter-Gilbert; Julia L. Riley;     Show all 3 Authors
Source:
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2018 v.72 no.6 pp. 97
ISSN:
0340-5443
Subject:
antipredatory behavior; body size; death; evolutionary biology; flight; habitat destruction; habitats; hatching; lizards; models; mouth; phenotype; predation; puffing; throat; variance
Abstract:
... Innate antipredator responses are integral for survival in many species, particularly those which lack parental care. Antipredator responses include both active (fight or flight) and passive behaviours (immobility). As the success of antipredator responses directly relates to survival and fitness, investigating the drivers that explain variance in these traits is key to understanding how predation ...
DOI:
10.1007/s00265-018-2505-7

19. Geographic divergence in dispersal-related behaviour in cane toads from range-front versus range-core populations in Australia

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Jodie Gruber; Gregory Brown; Richard Shine;     Show all 4 Authors
Source:
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2017 v.71 no.2 pp. 38
ISSN:
0340-5443
Subject:
risk; toads; phenotype; evolution; Rhinella marina; ecological invasion; laboratory experimentation; invasive species; colonizing ability; habitats; females; adults; Queensland; Northern Territory; Western Australia
Abstract:
... In invasive species, geographically variable evolutionary and ecological pressures can cause the rapid evolution of divergent behavioural phenotypes. Studies on invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) in tropical Australia have revealed strong (and heritable) shifts in physiological traits related to dispersal rate. Behavioural phenotypes may have evolved in similar ways. We used standardised arena ...
DOI:
10.1007/s00265-017-2266-8

20. Subproblem learning and reversal of a multidimensional visual cue in a lizard: evidence for behavioural flexibility?

Author:
Martin J. Whiting,   et al.   ; Birgit Szabo; Daniel W.A. Noble; Richard W. Byrne; David S. Tait;     Show all 5 Authors
Source:
Animal behaviour 2018 v.144 pp. 17-26
ISSN:
0003-3472
Subject:
Scincidae; animal behavior; color; food availability; learning; lizards; predators; probability; seasonal variation; social behavior; Australia
Abstract:
... Behavioural flexibility, the ability to adjust behaviour to environmental change by adapting existing skills to novel situations, is key to coping with, for example, complex social interactions, seasonal changes in food availability or detecting predators. We tested the tree skink, Egernia striolata, a family-living skink from eastern Australia, in a set-shifting paradigm of eight colour/shape dis ...
DOI:
10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.07.018