Cold-blooded culture? Assessing cultural behaviour in reptiles and its potential conservation implications.

It is becoming clear that the cognition of a species plays an important role in successful conservation, with cultural processes being a fundamental part of this. However, in contrast to mammals and birds, very little is known about cultural processes (and the social learning that underlies these) in reptiles. Here, we summarize the current state of knowledge, consider why this information is so limited and assess candidate behaviours observed in the wild, which warrant further investigation through the lens of cultural traditions.

'It's only a flesh wound' - Understanding the safety culture in equine, production animal and mixed veterinary practices.

The veterinary industry has some of the highest rates of non-fatal work-related injuries, yet safety culture remains unexplored. Utilising a survey distributed to all UK employees of a consolidated group of veterinary practices, this study aimed to describe the prevalence of work-related injuries in equine, production animal, and mixed veterinary practices, and to understand the behaviours of injured persons. There were 144 respondents.

The inaccurate citation of the "Universal Declaration of Animal Rights" (UDAR) in the scientific literature: a scoping review.

Background: The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (UDAR), adopted in 1977 by an international NGO inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and made public the following year, aimed to establish a universal code for human conduct toward animals. The declaration was revised twice, in 1989 and 2018, but it failed to be internationally recognised or adopted. While its global influence remained limited, misinterpretations of its scope and context have proliferated in legal and veterinary documents.

Effect of elevated incubation temperatures on learning and brain anatomy of hatchling and juvenile lizards.

Global warming is a major threat to reptiles because temperature strongly affects their development. High incubation temperatures reduce hatchling body size and physiological performance; however, its effects on brain development and learning abilities are less well understood. In particular, it remains unclear if the effects of elevated temperatures on learning are restricted to hatchlings or instead will persist later in life.

High nest failure in a zebra finch population and persistent nest predation by a monitor lizard.

Predation is well known to have substantial effects on behaviour and fitness in many animals. In songbirds, nest predation is rarely observed directly, so that research focusses primarily on the consequences of predation and less on the behaviour of the predator. Here, we report predation data in a zebra finch () nest box population, highlighting a 22-min-long sequence, captured on video, of a sand goanna () predating a zebra finch nest in the wild.

Trained quantity discrimination in invasive red-eared slider and a comparison with the native stripe-necked turtle.

Little is known about the behavioral and cognitive traits that best predict invasion success. Evidence is mounting that cognitive performance correlates with survival and fecundity, two pivotal factors for the successful establishment of invasive populations. We assessed the quantity discrimination ability of the globally invasive red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).

Climate Change and Dispersal Ability Jointly Affects the Future Distribution of Crocodile Lizards.

Crocodile lizards () are an endangered, 'living fossil' reptile from a monophyletic family and therefore, a high priority for conservation. We constructed climatic models to evaluate the potential impact of climate change on the distribution of crocodile lizards for the period 2000 to 2100 and determined the key environmental factors that affect the dispersal of this endangered species. For the construction of climatic models, we used 985 presence-only data points and 6 predictor variables which showed excellent performance (AUC = 0.

Colour Variation in the Crocodile Lizard () and Its Relationship to Individual Quality.

Colour plays a key role in animal social communication including as an indicator of individual quality. Using spectrophotometry, we examined colour variation in the throat and venter of the crocodile lizard (), an endangered species native to southern China and northern Vietnam. We detected two broad colour variants, individuals with and without red, for each body region and each sex.

Lizards lack speed-accuracy trade-offs in a quantitative foraging task when unable to sample the reward.

To make decisions, animals gather information from the environment in order to avoid costs (e.g., reduced survival) and increase benefits (e.

AnimalTraits - a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size.

Trait databases have become important resources for large-scale comparative studies in ecology and evolution. Here we introduce the AnimalTraits database, a curated database of body mass, metabolic rate and brain size, in standardised units, for terrestrial animals. The database has broad taxonomic breadth, including tetrapods, arthropods, molluscs and annelids from almost 2000 species and 1000 genera.

Invasive chameleons released from predation display more conspicuous colors.

Conspicuous social and sexual signals are predicted to experience pronounced character release when natural selection via predation is relaxed. However, we have few good examples of this phenomenon in the wild and none in species with dynamic color change. Here, we show that Jackson's chameleons inadvertently introduced from Kenya to Hawaii (Oahu), where there are no coevolved, native lizard predators, experienced pronounced character release of color signals.

A new protocol for investigating visual two-choice discrimination learning in lizards.

One of the most widely studied abilities in lizards is discrimination learning. The protocols used to test lizards are often novel or adapted from other taxa without proper validation. We need to ensure that tests of discrimination learning are appropriate and properly applied in lizards so that robust inferences can be made about cognitive ability.

A Smaller Habenula is Associated with Increasing Intensity of Sexual Selection.

The habenula is a small structure in the brain that acts as a relay station for neural information, helping to modulate behaviour in response to variable and unpredictable stimuli. Broadly, it is evolutionarily conserved in structure and connectivity across vertebrates and is the most prominent bilaterally asymmetric structure in the brain. Nonetheless, comparative evolutionary studies of the habenula are virtually non-existent.

Pet Reptiles-Are We Meeting Their Needs?

The ability to meet the needs of each species in captivity is at the heart of the ethical debate on the acceptability of keeping reptiles and other animals as pets. Little is known about the ability of reptile owners to understand their pets' behavior and to meet their welfare requirements. In this study, we surveyed pet reptile owners in Portugal (N = 220) to assess their behavioral knowledge and the provision of essential husbandry needs.

Convergent evolution of skin surface microarchitecture and increased skin hydrophobicity in semi-aquatic anole lizards.

Animals that habitually cross the boundary between water and land face specific challenges with respect to locomotion, respiration, insulation, fouling and waterproofing. Many semi-aquatic invertebrates and plants have developed complex surface microstructures with water-repellent properties to overcome these problems, but equivalent adaptations of the skin have not been reported for vertebrates that encounter similar environmental challenges. Here, we document the first evidence of evolutionary convergence of hydrophobic structured skin in a group of semi-aquatic tetrapods.

Do I stay or do I go? Shifts in perch use by lizards during morning twilight suggest anticipatory behaviour.

Anticipatory behaviour is the expectation of a near-future event based on information processed in the past and influences an animal's tactical decisions, particularly when there are significant fitness consequences. The grass lizard () perches on blades of grass at night which likely reduces the probability of predation by terrestrial predators such as snakes, rodents and shrews. During twilight (starting 30 min before sunrise), they move from above the grass to within grass clumps and this is thought to afford the lizard protection while reducing detection by avian predators.

Superior continuous quantity discrimination in a freshwater turtle.

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 despite the fact that evidence is accumulating that reptiles possess cognitive skills and learning ability. To help address this deficiency in reptiles, we investigated the quantitative ability of an Asian freshwater turtle, Mauremys sinensis, using red cubes on a white background in a trained quantity discrimination task.

Sperm cryopreservation in an Australian skink ().

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.

Sperm Storage in a Family-Living Lizard, the Tree Skink (Egernia striolata).

The ability to produce viable offspring without recently mating, either through sperm storage or parthenogenesis, can provide fitness advantages under a suite of challenging ecological scenarios. Using genetic analysis, we demonstrate that 3 wild-caught female Tree Skinks (Egernia striolata) reproduced in captivity with no access to males for over a year, and that this is best explained by sperm storage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time female sperm storage has been documented in any monogamous family-living reptile, including social Australian egerniine skinks (from the subfamily Egerniinae).

Behavioral Thermoregulation by Mothers Protects Offspring from Global Warming but at a Cost.

AbstractThermal conditions during embryonic development affect offspring phenotype in ectotherms. Therefore, rising environmental temperatures can have important consequences for an individual's fitness. Nonetheless, females have some capacity to compensate for potential negative consequences that adverse developmental environments may have on their offspring.

Are ectotherm brains vulnerable to global warming?

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.

A deepening understanding of animal culture suggests lessons for conservation.

A key goal of conservation is to protect biodiversity by supporting the long-term persistence of viable, natural populations of wild species. Conservation practice has long been guided by genetic, ecological and demographic indicators of risk. Emerging evidence of animal culture across diverse taxa and its role as a driver of evolutionary diversification, population structure and demographic processes may be essential for augmenting these conventional conservation approaches and decision-making.

Investment in chemical signalling glands facilitates the evolution of sociality in lizards.

The evolution of sociality and traits that correlate with, or predict, sociality, have been the focus of considerable recent study. In order to reduce the social conflict that ultimately comes with group living, and foster social tolerance, individuals need reliable information about group members and potential rivals. Chemical signals are one such source of information and are widely used in many animal taxa, including lizards.