TY - JOUR
T1 - Hydric “costs” of reproduction
T2 - Pregnancy increases evaporative water loss in the snake vipera aspis
AU - Lourdais, Olivier
AU - Dupoué, Andréaz
AU - Guillon, Michaël
AU - Guiller, Gaëtan
AU - Michaud, Bruno
AU - Denardo, Dale
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support was provided by the French National Research Agency (ANR) ECTOCLIM project, the “Programme opéra-tionnel plurirégional Loire FEDER” (no. PRESAGE 30810), the “Etablissement Public Loire,” and the Conseil Régional of Poitou Charentes (Progamme Bocage).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/11/1
Y1 - 2017/11/1
N2 - Water constraints can mediate evolutionary conflict either among individuals (e.g., parent-offspring conflict, sexual conflict) or within an individual (e.g., cost of reproduction). During pregnancy, water is of particular importance because the female provides all water needed for embryonic development and experiences important maternal shifts in behavior and physiology that, together, can compromise female water balance if water availability is limited. We examined the effect of pregnancy on evaporative water loss and microhabitat selection in a viviparous snake, the aspic viper. We found that both physiological (increased metabolism and body temperature) and morphological (body distension) changes contribute to an increased evaporative water loss in pregnant females. We also found that pregnant females in the wild select warmer andmoister basking locations than nonreproductive females, likely to mitigate the conflict between thermal needs and water loss. Water resources likely induce significant reproductive constraints across diverse taxa and thus warrant further consideration in ecological research. From an evolutionary perspective, water constraints during reproduction may contribute to shaping reproductive effort.
AB - Water constraints can mediate evolutionary conflict either among individuals (e.g., parent-offspring conflict, sexual conflict) or within an individual (e.g., cost of reproduction). During pregnancy, water is of particular importance because the female provides all water needed for embryonic development and experiences important maternal shifts in behavior and physiology that, together, can compromise female water balance if water availability is limited. We examined the effect of pregnancy on evaporative water loss and microhabitat selection in a viviparous snake, the aspic viper. We found that both physiological (increased metabolism and body temperature) and morphological (body distension) changes contribute to an increased evaporative water loss in pregnant females. We also found that pregnant females in the wild select warmer andmoister basking locations than nonreproductive females, likely to mitigate the conflict between thermal needs and water loss. Water resources likely induce significant reproductive constraints across diverse taxa and thus warrant further consideration in ecological research. From an evolutionary perspective, water constraints during reproduction may contribute to shaping reproductive effort.
KW - Behavioral mitigation
KW - Physiological trade-off
KW - Viviparity
KW - Water loss
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U2 - 10.1086/694848
DO - 10.1086/694848
M3 - Article
C2 - 29068263
AN - SCOPUS:85032819674
SN - 1522-2152
VL - 90
SP - 663
EP - 672
JO - Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
JF - Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
IS - 6
ER -