Sprint performance of a generalist lizard running on different
Transcription
Sprint performance of a generalist lizard running on different
Journal of Zoology bs_bs_banner Journal of Zoology. Print ISSN 0952-8369 Sprint performance of a generalist lizard running on different substrates: grip matters Renata Brandt, Fabricio Galvani & Tiana Kohlsdorf Department of Biology, FFCLRP, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil Keywords Tropidurus torquatus; sprint speed; grip; substrate type; locomotor performance; friction; lizard; running speed. Correspondence Tiana Kohlsdorf, Department of Biology, FFCLRP, University of Sao Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, Bairro Monte Alegre, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo 14040-901, Brazil. Email: [email protected] Editor: Mark-Oliver Rödel Received 1 October 2014; revised 27 March 2015; accepted 28 March 2015 doi:10.1111/jzo.12253 Abstract The relationships between locomotor performance and major features of environmental structure, such as incline and diameter, have been consistently identified in several vertebrate groups. The effects of variation in characteristics such as texture and structural complexity, in contrast, remain neglected, and associations between sprint speeds achieved during steady-level locomotion and the way an animal grips the surface are particularly obscure. In the present study, we have used the habitat generalist lizard Tropidurus torquatus to test the hypothesis that animals run faster on the substrates where gripping performance is higher. We ran 18 individuals on seven different substrates (wood, thin and coarse sand, coarse gravel, rock, leaf litter and grass) and recorded their maximum speeds using high-speed cameras. Surfaces were characterized for height variation and grip, the last given by average grip performance achieved by lizards of different sizes. Maximum sprint speeds were highest on rock and grass and lowest on thin and coarse sand, and variation in performance among substrates was explained by grip: substrates in which lizards gripped stronger are those that enhanced average maximum sprint speed. This study is the first report providing evidence for variation in maximum sprint speeds achieved by a generalist lizard running on different substrates, and demonstrates how friction resulting from the interaction of the lizard with the substrate may be critically important for sprint speed. Introduction The influence of environmental structure on the locomotor performance of organisms is a classical assumption of Arnold’s paradigm (Arnold, 1983). Evidence for Arnold’s paradigm assumption is prevalent among squamates, a vertebrate lineage in which several species exhibit locomotor adaptations to habitat structure (Garland & Losos, 1994). A remarkable example is the presence of toe fringes in the lizard Uma scoparia (Carothers, 1986), a sand dune specialist that became a classic model of locomotor adaptation to a specific substrate. The relationships between locomotor performance and the characteristics of habitats occupied by different species have attracted considerable attention mostly because locomotion is a key feature for a wide array of ecological tasks, including finding mates and escaping from predators, which directly affect fitness. The best described effects of habitat structure on lizard locomotor performance are the speed reductions observed in animals moving on inclined surfaces (Irschick & Jayne, 1998; Jayne & Irschick, 1999) and on perches of distinct diameters (Losos & Sinervo, 1989; Losos & Irschick, 1996). The effects of moving on different substrates on running speeds are less known (Van Damme & Vanhooydonck, 2001; but see also Kohlsdorf et al., 2004; Journal of Zoology •• (2015) ••–•• © 2015 The Zoological Society of London Vanhooydonck et al., 2005; Kohlsdorf & Navas, 2012; Tulli, Abdala & Cruz, 2012; Vanhooydonck et al., 2015), and the focus of the existing studies has mostly been given to the evolution of morphologies adapted to specific substrates (Kohlsdorf et al., 2004; Tulli et al., 2012). The influence of characteristics as grip or structural complexity of different substrates on performance, on the contrary, still remains neglected (with some exceptions as Vanhooydonck et al., 2005 and Li et al., 2011). Characteristics as friction and structural complexity of different substrates are particularly relevant for sprint speeds because of the physical interaction between animal’s feet and the supporting surface during terrestrial locomotion. Specifically, a successful step depends on how efficiently a foot exerts forces to the surface during animal locomotion (Lejeune, Willems & Heglund, 1998; Kerdok et al., 2002; Korff & McHenry, 2011). In turn, the forces applied by the feet on the surface are determined by interactions between characteristics of the organism (e.g. bone lengths, muscle force production) and those of the substrate (e.g. incline, granulation and friction). For example, in the absence of other forces (e.g. wind, rain and locomotion of other animals), steps on a granular substrate cause irreversible deformation of the surface. The surface deformation results in substantial energy loss to the 1 Lizard running speed and grip on different substrates substrate, which in lizards is often compensated by mechanical work of the upper hind limb muscles, potentially affecting performance (Li, Hsieh & Goldman, 2012). Frictional properties of the substrates also potentially affect performance, as the interaction between a lizard’s foot and substrates of different textures likely results on distinct friction coefficients (Alexander, 2003). Accordingly, lower friction coefficients probably restrict acceleration and limit maximum sprint speeds (Vanhooydonck et al., 2015) likely determining if animals slip during locomotion (van der Tol et al., 2005) and how do lizards grip to specific substrates (Zani, 2000; Tulli, Abdala & Cruz, 2011). Despite the expected effect of friction on locomotor performance, the relationships between grip performance and running sprint speeds have not been tested. This is particularly surprising because both performance traits seem to be connected by the way animals apply forces to the substrate and deal with physical differences among surfaces (Kerdok et al., 2002; Alexander, 2003; Korff & McHenry, 2011). Identifying associations between sprint speeds and gripping performances achieved on physically different surfaces is likely of interest to studies focusing on generalist species that use a wide array of substrates. If sprint performance in different ecological settings reflects the effects of friction coefficients when the foot moves in contact with substrate, it will likely influence the microhabitat choices of a generalist species when performing different ecological tasks. In this study, we compare the effects of different substrates on sprint speeds achieved by an iguanian lizard, testing if the variation observed is related to the grip performance exhibited on each specific substrate. We chose Tropidurus torquatus (Tropiduridae) as our study system because it is a generalist species known to use the entire set of substrates incorporated here, also displaying some microhabitat preferences depending on the population analyzed (Rodrigues, 1987). We measured sprint speeds on seven structurally different substrates (wood, thin and coarse sand, coarse gravel, rock, leaf litter and grass) and related results to average grip force achieved on each surface. Specific questions addressed are as follows: (1) Do sprint speeds achieved by the generalist lizard T. torquatus differ among natural substrates? (2) Are the expected differences in sprint speeds explained by variation in grip forces observed among substrates? Our prediction is that lizards will exhibit higher sprint speeds on the substrates in which grip performance is higher. Material and methods Animals and husbandry The lizard T. torquatus is a generalist species distributed along a wide range of ecological settings that uses diverse microhabitats (Rodrigues, 1987). We maximized ecological diversity by sampling two populations differing in body size and in the main substrate used in nature. In an urban area at Piracicaba/SP, Brazil, 10 lizards were collected on concrete walls, tree trunks, grass and rock pavement. Eight additional individuals were collected at Praia dos Neves, in Presidente 2 R. Brandt, F. Galvani and T. Kohlsdorf Kennedy/ES, Brazil. Lizards from this second population are found on a sandbank area that is characterized by sparse vegetation and a thin leaf litter covering the sand soil under the vegetation. All animals were collected under IBAMA permit no. 14109-1. Lizards were captured by nose, placed in cloth bags and transported to the laboratory at University of São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo, Brazil). In captivity, animals were maintained in plastic terraria with an incandescent lamp (40 W, 12:12 dark–light cycle) that provided basking areas for behavioral thermoregulation. Animals were fed after experiments three times a week with live cockroaches and mealworms and offered water ad libitum. At the end of the experiments, animals were killed by intraperitoneal overdose of anesthetics for removal of muscle samples used in other related studies developed in the laboratory; specimens were fixed with 10% formalin and preserved in 70% ethanol at the Coleção Herpetológica de Ribeirão Preto (CHRP – University of São Paulo). All procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee for Animal Experimentation from University of São Paulo (CEUA/USP). After fixation, we measured the snout–vent length of each specimen using a digital caliper (Mitutoyo CD-15B, Suzano, SP, Brazil; ±0.01 mm). Physical and structural characteristics of the substrates: grip and height variation We used seven different substrates in our performance tests: wood, thin and coarse sand, coarse gravel, rock, leaf litter and grass. This sampling comprised granular substrates (two types of sand and leaf litter), which likely displace under pressure of lizard’s feet, fixed surfaces (wood, rock and coarse gravel), which remain steady when an animal moves along them, and a substrate with intermediate properties (grass). These substrates were physically characterized regarding grip and structurally characterized regarding complexity (i.e. height variation). Grip was quantified in each substrate by measuring the average grip force necessary to detach a large (23 g) and a small (13 g) T. torquatus lizard from the substrate. We adapted the protocol of Zani (2000) and placed the lizards on each substrate allowing them to grasp with both hands and feet. Animals were connected to a dynamometer (accuracy: 0.1 g; Pesola scale) by a string attached to their pelvic and scapular girdles. Each lizard was then dragged horizontally at a constant speed until its complete detachment from the substrate; at this moment, we registered the maximum force attained. Each measure was corrected by the mass of the animal. We performed this procedure five times with each of the two lizards and corrected values by body size dividing the force measurements for body mass of each lizard; averaged mass-corrected values for each different substrate corresponded to the grip force characteristic of each condition. In addition, we estimated the reliability of our grip measurements. We calculated intraclass correlation for both the small (0.89) and the large lizards (0.82), and the variance within (0.700) and among substrates (1.86), and verified that our measurements are repeatable. We also structurally characterized each substrate by calculating the average variation in height of each substrate using Journal of Zoology •• (2015) ••–•• © 2015 The Zoological Society of London R. Brandt, F. Galvani and T. Kohlsdorf lateral view photographs of the racetrack at the level of each substrate with a scale bar. Each substrate was photographed five times sequentially from the same distance, which covered the entire length of the track, and the largest difference in height variation was quantified on each photograph using the software Corel Draw (version 10.0, Corel Corporation, Ottawa, ON, Canada.). Specifically, we identified the highest and the lowest points on each photograph, and the difference between these two points corresponded to variation in substrate height in that photograph (Supporting Information Fig. S1). We averaged these five measures to obtain the substrate’s index of height variation. Sprint speed Sprint speed was measured by stimulating the lizards to run over the seven different substrates (wood, thin and coarse sand, coarse gravel, rock, leaf litter and grass). Trials were performed on a 2-m racetrack covered every time by a different substrate. In the case of granular substrates (i.e. thin and coarse sand and leaf litter), the substrate layer had a minimum of 2-cm depth in order to avoid the lizard’s feet from touching the racetrack floor during the race. Up to three substrates were tested per day, allowing the animals to rest for at least 30 min between trials. Each lizard was stimulated to run on the same substrate for at least 2 different days, and the order of the substrates was randomly chosen in each of the two sets of races performed. Therefore, within each set of races, all lizards were tested on the same substrate order, but the order of substrates was not the same in the first and the second experimental sets. All tests were performed at 35 ± 1.5°C (for details on preferred temperatures of T. torquatus, see Kohlsdorf & Navas, 2006), and animals were placed inside an incubator for 30 min prior to each race and in between trials, to achieve the experimental temperature. We filmed the trials from a top view using two high-speed cameras (JVC TK-C1380) at 60 frames s−1 (see Rocha-Barbosa et al., 2008; Li et al., 2011; Collins et al., 2013 for studies with lizards that used equivalent filming speeds), covering the entire track. We digitized a point at the tip of the snout using the MOTUS Peak Performance software to register the maximum sprint speed attained by each lizard at each substrate. Analyses All analyses were implemented in R (version 3.1.0) using RStudio (0.98.953); all variables were log10 transformed prior to analyses. We first tested if substrate had any effect on the maximum sprint speed achieved using a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) design with assumption checks (ez version 4.2-2, Lawrence, 2013). Individual maximum sprint speed was entered as a dependent variable, substrate was considered a within-subject factor and population was incorporated as a between-subject factor. Subsequently, we calculated a mean sprint speed for every substrate using the individual maximum sprint speeds and tested if running performance could be explained by differences in grip or height variation among substrates using linear regression models. Journal of Zoology •• (2015) ••–•• © 2015 The Zoological Society of London Lizard running speed and grip on different substrates Results The present study tested for the differences in sprint speeds given by changes in substrate structure, subsequently relating the variation identified to the average grip measured on each substrate. We first tested for the differences in maximum sprint speed achieved by individuals of T. torquatus from two different populations running on seven different substrates and found that substrate type significantly affected maximum sprint speeds (repeated-measures ANOVA, F6,96 = 3.39, P < 0.01) but population of origin did not (F1,16 = 1.02, P = 0.33). Also, there was no interaction between population and substrate type (F6,96 = 0.65, P = 0.68). The effect of substrate type on sprint speeds was detected even when P-values were adjusted due to marginally significant sphericity test (Mauchly’s W = 0.099, P = 0.05; Greenhouse–Geisser epsilon = 0.55, corrected P < 0.05; Huynh–Feldt epsilon = 0.71, corrected P < 0.01). Maximum sprint speeds were highest on rock and grass, and lowest on thin sand (Table 1; Fig. 1). Differences among substrates in the sprint speeds achieved by T. torquatus being forced to run did not exceed 15%. The subsequent step consisted of testing if the differences among substrates identified on maximum sprint speeds were related to the differences in substrate structure given by height variation and the resultant grip. Average maximum sprint speed was not explained by height variation of the substrates (slope = −0.02, R2 = 0.08, F1,5 = 0.429, P = 0.54), but significant effects of grip were detected (slope = 0.059, R2 = 0.744, F1,5 = 14.527, P < 0.05). As predicted, substrates in which lizards had higher grip enhanced average maximum sprint speed (Fig. 1). Discussion The present study provides evidence for the effects of variation in substrate characteristics on the maximum sprint speeds achieved by a generalist lizard. The observed differences among substrates in the running performance of T. torquatus were not explained by structural differences due to height variation (for a discussion about structural heterogeneity in natural habitats, see Höfling et al., 2012). Instead, differences in sprint speeds among substrates are related to the average Table 1 Data for running performance (means ± SE) and mean value of height variation and mass-corrected grip associated with each substrate tested Substrate Sprint speed (mm s−1) Height variation (mm) Grip (gF) Wood Thin sand Coarse sand Coarse gravel Rock Leaf litter Grass 2265 ± 72.27 2151 ± 80.90 2212 ± 79.77 2291 ± 51.64 2421 ± 75.27 2226 ± 66.02 2415 ± 73.36 0 10.5 10.5 17.4 2.7 29.6 11.9 2.418 0.825 1.319 3.971 4.024 1.114 3.172 Sprint speed was quantified in 18 lizards and grip performance in 2 individuals. Height variation was measured sequentially five times along the racetrack (for details see, the Material and methods section). 3 log10 (Mean maximum sprint speed) (mm s–1) Lizard running speed and grip on different substrates R. Brandt, F. Galvani and T. Kohlsdorf 3.39 Grass Coarse gravel 3.36 Wood Leaf litter Coarse sand Thin sand 3.33 0.0 0.2 0.4 log10 (Grip) (gF) grip achieved on each surface. A novelty of our study was to assemble the physical properties that can vary among the natural set of substrates used by the species and translate them into this one single measure with a biological meaning (grip), which contrasts with the classical dichotomic approach of polarizing substrates in either granular or solid (e.g. Claussen et al., 2002; Kohlsdorf & Navas, 2012; Li et al., 2012). Under such approach, we show that a secure grip is not only required to climb up vertical surfaces, as traditionally discussed in the literature (see Vanhooydonck, Van Damme & Aerts, 2002; Alexander, 2003; Biewener, 2003), but it has also a major effect on steady-level locomotion and represents a determining factor for speeds achieved when running horizontally. The relationship between speeds of T. torquatus running on different substrates and the average grip measured in each surface is expected from a biomechanical basis. Ground reaction forces at the foot–floor interface have been extensively studied and are probably the most critical biomechanical factor in slipping (Redfern et al., 2001). The probability of an animal slipping during locomotion is determined by the frictional properties of the substrate (van der Tol et al., 2005) because interactions between the lizard’s feet and the substrate determine the friction coefficients (Alexander, 2003). Specifically, slips will happen when friction or traction between the feet and the running surface is too low. This is exceptionally relevant for sprinting because the speed achieved depends on the forces effectively applied to the substrate when the feet of the animal interact with the surface (Lejeune et al., 1998; Kerdok et al., 2002; Korff & McHenry, 2011). When the traction or friction between the foot and the surface is low, a slip is inevitable (Redfern et al., 2002), and the animal may even 4 Rock 0.6 Figure 1 Log-log plot of mean values of maximum sprint speed (y-axis) versus grip (x-axis) of the lizard Tropidurus torquatus running on different substrates. The regression line corresponds to linear least-squares (R2 = 0.744, P < 0.05), and the gray shade represents 95% of confidence intervals. fail in pushing its body forward. It is relevant to mention that some surfaces are more slippery than others, undoubtedly affecting how lizards grip to them (Zani, 2000; Tulli et al., 2011) and thus restricting acceleration and lowering maximum sprint speeds during locomotion. These associations are supported by our results, as T. torquatus lizards ran faster on substrates in which the measured grip was higher. As a generalist lizard, T. torquatus is expected to exhibit a low degree of performance sensitivity when running on different substrates (Irschick & Losos, 1999; Irschick, 2002). Indeed, differences in speed between substrates were no larger than 15%. It is important to point out that the speeds we registered with animals being forced to run were much lower than differences described in the literature for undisturbed lizards (Urosaurus ornatus, see McElroy et al., 2007). Still, even when forced to run, T. torquatus were slower on thin and coarse sand, which were also the substrates in which we measured the lowest grip values. Although these results contradict studies performed with the closely related Liolaemini lizards, for which fastest sprint speeds were measured on sand (Tulli et al., 2012), they are coherent with biomechanical predictions for running on granular surfaces (see Lejeune et al., 1998; Claussen et al., 2002). A large amount of energy is lost to the substrate during lizard locomotion on sand because of the irreversible deformation of the surface (Ding et al., 2012; Li et al., 2012). The feet penetrate the granular surface during locomotion, increasing drag and often reducing stride length (Claussen et al., 2002; Ding et al., 2012). As a result, performance is potentially affected and locomotion likely becomes energetically more expensive (see Lejeune et al., 1998; Li et al., 2012). Journal of Zoology •• (2015) ••–•• © 2015 The Zoological Society of London R. Brandt, F. Galvani and T. Kohlsdorf The association between grip and sprint speeds identified within a range of slightly different substrates is probably ecologically relevant for a generalist lizard such as T. torquatus. For example, a slip potentially affects survival during predator escape, and variation in running performance imposed by how the animal grips a given surface likely determines which substrates will be more often used in nature. Therefore, knowing how performance varies across an environmental gradient, such as the grip gradient simulated here, is essential for understanding the processes responsible for delimiting a species niche (Irschick & Losos, 1999). Highly territorial species, such as T. torquatus (Pinto, Wiederhecker & Colli, 2005), spend most of their time surveying their territory against intruders and searching for food (Irschick & Losos, 1996). Such behavior intensifies exposure to predators, which makes these animals strongly dependent on sprint speeds to escape. At least within the lizard genus Anolis, species that rely on rapid locomotion seem to be constrained to use habitats in which they can achieve maximal performance (Irschick & Losos, 1999). We noted something similar when comparing the generalist T. torquatus (see table 2 of Grizante et al., 2010 for the estimated proportion of habitat use in tropidurines) with other tropidurine species that are more specialized in substrate use. Differences in sprint speeds of Tropidurus running on rock and sand reported elsewhere (see Kohlsdorf & Navas, 2012) did not exceed 5% in T. torquatus, while it averages 25% among specialists and gets to about 52% in T. insulanus, a species that is strictly found moving on rocks. The generalist T. torquatus is not faster nor slower when compared to the Tropidurus that are specialized in a given substrate type (Kohlsdorf & Navas, 2012), supporting the hypothesis of a weak specialization for maximal sprint speeds associated with a broader habitat breadth in T. torquatus. Despite the large body of work dedicated for understanding the relationships of locomotor performance with habitat use and ecology, particularly within the genus Anolis, such functional relationships remained poorly understood for most animal groups (Irschick, 2002). We provide a mechanistic explanation for the variation in sprint performance among different substrates. We show that the grip animals achieve on different substrates is not only essential for locomotion on inclined and vertical surfaces, as traditionally considered (e.g. Alexander, 2003; Biewener, 2003), but also influences maximum sprint speeds exhibited on level surfaces. This relationship was first identified here for a generalist species, which is adapted for moving along different surfaces. The conceptual elements underpinning such association likely encompass animal locomotion in a wide range of terrestrial taxa and are essential for understanding how differences in habitat and microhabitat use evolved in different lineages. Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Fabio Barros and Felipe Zampieri for their assistance during the fieldwork. The authors also thank André Vieira Rodrigues for the helpful discussions. Anthony Herrel and an anonymous reviewer provided valuJournal of Zoology •• (2015) ••–•• © 2015 The Zoological Society of London Lizard running speed and grip on different substrates able comments on previous versions of this paper. R.B. is supported by a FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship 2013/ 14125-0. This research was supported by a FAPESP 2006/ 60140-4 grant awarded to T.K. References Alexander, R.M. (2003). Principles of animal locomotion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Arnold, S.J. (1983). Morphology, performance and fitness. Am. 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Ecol. 15, 186–202. Vanhooydonck, B., Van Damme, R. & Aerts, P. (2002). Variation in speed, gait characteristics and microhabitat use in lacertid lizards. J. Exp. Biol. 205, 1037–1046. Vanhooydonck, B., Andronescu, A., Herrel, A. & Irschick, D.J. (2005). Effects of substrate structure on speed and acceleration capacity in climbing geckos. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 85, 385–393. Vanhooydonck, B., Measey, J., Edwards, S., Makhubo, B., Tolley, K.A. & Herrel, A. (2015). The effects of substratum on locomotor performance in lacertid lizards. Biol J Linn. Soc. (Online: doi: 10.1111/bij.12542). Zani, P.A. (2000). The comparative evolution of lizard claw and toe morphology and clinging performance. J. Evol. Biol. 13, 316–325. Supporting information Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher’s web-site: Figure S1. Illustration of the method used for calculating variation in substrate height. Five sequential photographs of Journal of Zoology •• (2015) ••–•• © 2015 The Zoological Society of London R. Brandt, F. Galvani and T. Kohlsdorf the racetrack were taken for each substrate, as exemplified by the three photographs shown in the right. In each photograph the substrate top profile was indentified and the highest and lowest points were marked (illustrated by red arrow). The Journal of Zoology •• (2015) ••–•• © 2015 The Zoological Society of London Lizard running speed and grip on different substrates difference between these two points corresponded to variation in substrate height in that photograph. The five measures obtained for each substrate were then averaged to obtain the substrate’s index of height variation. 7