The Morphological Differentiation And The Environmental Relevance Of Water Loss And Metabolic Rate Among The Populations Of The Lizards

Eremias multiocellata is widely distributed species in the genus Eremias.Its distribution ranges from monsoon climate to continental climate,as well as plateau climate.Habitats include deserts,plateaus,and other environments.Differences habitat types,especially the Tibetan Plateau,can effectively limit the gene flow between populations,which provide a better study of populations adaptive differentiation.We studied the phenotypic differentiation of the 11 populations from the northwestern of China,and studied the adaptive resting metabolic rate?RMR?and total evaporative water loss?TEWL?of three populations from the altitude gradient.The interrelationship between environment and biology is a fundamental issue in ecology.In nature,environmental gradients often lead to different processes of natural selection.During the evolution of reptiles,the change of body size is an important part of evolution,and it is directly related to the life history characteristics.In this study,we measured the morphological traits of E.multiocellata from 11 populations,and compared them with the mitochondrial neutral genetic markers?COI,Cytb?.The results showed that the genetic differences among populations were large,the level of genetic diversity was low.The range of F_ST was?0.61,0,92?,which shows low gene flow and inhibited the spread and homogenization of genes and formed a stable genetic pattern.The results showed that there was a high degree of differentiation between populations.F_ST was mainly related to geographical distance and altitude.It is expected that the formation of this genetic pattern may be related to the vast desert,Gobi and Qinghai-Tibet plateau between the populations.In addition,the comparison of neutral genetic differentiation(F_ST)and phenotypic differentiation(P_ST)results shows that F_ST>P_ST.This result indicates that phenotypic differences are directed selection,and it's genetic differences not environmental variables drive the differentiation of phenotypes.Water and heat are important energy sources for reptiles.Habitat humidity,temperature and water availability are essential for the survival and reproduction of animals.The survival strategies of animals in different humid and heat environments play an important role in maintaining their life,growth and reproduction.In this study,we used E.multiocellata from three altitude populations?Wulate:1025 m;Liuba:1782m;Sugan Lake:2887 m?under three experimental temperatures?20,28 and?,and three experimental humidity?Dry:RH=10-15%;Control:RH=50-60%;Humid:RH=70-80%?to explore the effects of different temperatures and humidity on the RMR and total TEWL between different altitude gradients.The results showed that both RMR and TEWL were not related to body weight,but positively correlated with temperature and altitude.The TEWL was positively correlated with experimental humidity during different humidity treatments.RMR was the largest in the control group,followed by wet group,the smallest is the dry group;between the different populations,the TEWL is positively correlated with the annual average humidity,and the RMR is negatively correlated with the annual average temperature.