Many reptiles occur in landscapes that are prone to fire, yet limited information is available on the cues these species use to detect approaching fires or their immediate and preemptive behavioral responses to fire stimuli. Here, we describe the behavioral response of ten captive sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) that were inadvertently exposed to light smoke. Proportionately, significantly more individuals that were exposed to smoke exhibited increased activity, including swift pacing, repeated escape behaviors, and rapid olfactory-related tongue-flicking than those that were not exposed, which did not exhibit any such changes in activity or behaviors. Additionally, of 14 reptile species housed in the smoke-affected area, T. rugosa was the only species to exhibit a noticeable behavioral response. Since there were no visible flames, sounds of fire, reductions in light levels or visibility, or increases in temperature, these observations suggest that T. rugosa detects smoke through olfaction. Moreover, because most individuals were captive-born and, therefore, naïve to smoke or fire, this response likely represents an adaptive innate behavioral response of the species. We discuss these findings in the light of fire avoidance behavior in Tiliqua and reptiles in general.

中文翻译：

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为困倦的蜥蜴敲响警钟：Tiliqua rugosa（爬行动物：有鳞：蜥蜴）对烟雾的嗅觉驱动反应及其对避火行为的影响

许多爬行动物生活在容易发生火灾的环境中，但关于这些物种用来检测即将发生的火灾或其对火灾刺激的直接和先发制人的行为反应的线索的可用信息有限。在这里，我们描述了 10 只被圈养的困蜥蜴 (Tiliqua rugosa) 无意中暴露在轻烟中的行为反应。成比例地，暴露于烟雾中的个体表现出更多的活动，包括快速起搏、反复逃跑行为和与嗅觉相关的快速弹舌，而未暴露于烟雾中的个体则没有表现出任何此类活动或行为变化。此外，在受烟雾影响的地区饲养的 14 种爬行动物中，T. rugosa 是唯一表现出明显行为反应的物种。由于没有可见的火焰，火的声音，光照水平或能见度的降低，或温度的升高，这些观察结果表明 T. rugosa 通过嗅觉检测烟雾。此外，由于大多数个体是圈养出生的，因此对吸烟或火灾天真无知，这种反应可能代表了该物种的适应性先天行为反应。我们根据 Tiliqua 和一般爬行动物的避火行为来讨论这些发现。