Nature and science
The fence lizards that could buffer a warmer day
Documented history and research · Evidence reviewed
A comparative study examined how behavior can shelter animals from the climate they inhabit.
New Jersey animals in a wider comparison
A study published in 2015 included fence lizards collected in Burlington and Camden counties in 2007 within a comparison of eight populations. Researchers examined thermal preferences and tolerance, then modeled how behavior could regulate exposure. The investigation distinguished the temperature of the broader environment from the temperatures animals could obtain by moving among available conditions. Buckley, Ehrenberger and Angilletta (2015).
Similar physiology across different climates
Seven populations retained similar thermal physiology despite environmental differences. An eighth, where opportunities to regulate temperature were poorer, showed greater heat tolerance and lower cold tolerance. The authors interpreted the comparison as evidence that behavioral buffering can limit the pressures favoring local physiological adaptation. Buckley, Ehrenberger and Angilletta (2015).
Protection can have a limit
Models suggested that behavioral temperature regulation could remain possible for decades but encounter abrupt limits under further warming. This was a conditional projection, not evidence that New Jersey lizards had already suffered a modeled collapse. Behavior reducing immediate exposure might also reduce selection for different thermal tolerances. Buckley, Ehrenberger and Angilletta (2015).
Sources and research limits
- Buckley, Ehrenberger and Angilletta (2015) — Complete institutional author abstract inspected.
- Publisher study record and methods — Indexed collection-method passage verified New Jersey counties and 2007 collection; same paper and shared summary budget.
The projected climate response is not a measured future population outcome.