Chronic changes in climate conditions may select for acclimation responses in terrestrial animals living in fluctuating environments, and beneficial acclimation responses may be key to the resilience of these species to global changes. Despite evidence that climate warming induces changes in water availability, acclimation responses to water restriction are understudied compared with thermal acclimation. In addition, acclimation responses may involve different modes, paces, and trade-offs between physiological and behavioral traits. Here, we tested the dynamical acclimation responses of a dry-skinned terrestrial ectotherm to chronic water restriction. Yearling common lizards (Zootoca vivipara) were exposed to sublethal water restriction during 2 mo of the summer season in laboratory conditions, then released in outdoor conditions for 10 additional months. Candidate behavioral (exploration, basking, and thermal preferences) and physiological (metabolism at rest and standard water loss rate) traits potentially involved in the acclimation response were measured repeatedly during and after water restriction. We observed a sequential acclimation response in water-restricted animals (yearlings spent less time basking during the first weeks of water deprivation) that was followed by delayed sex-specific physiological consequences of the water restriction during the following months (thermal depression in males and lower standard evaporative water loss rates in females). Despite short-term negative effects of water restriction on body growth, annual growth, survival, and reproduction were not significantly different between water-restricted and control yearlings. This demonstrates that beneficial acclimation responses to water restriction involve both short-term flexible behavioral responses and delayed changes in thermal and water biology traits.

中文翻译：

---

适应水限制意味着蜥蜴物种在行为和生理响应上有不同的节奏。

气候条件的慢性变化可能选择生活在动荡环境中的陆生动物的驯化响应，而有益的驯化响应可能是这些物种应对全球变化的适应能力的关键。尽管有证据表明气候变暖会引起水利用量的变化，但与热适应相比，对水限制的适应反应的研究仍较少。此外，适应反应可能涉及生理特征和行为特征之间的不同模式，速度和取舍。在这里，我们测试了皮肤干燥的陆生等温线对慢性水分限制的动态适应反应。一岁的普通蜥蜴（Zootoca vivipara）在夏季在实验室条件下的夏季的2个月内受到亚致死水分限制，然后在室外条件下再释放10个月。在节水期间和节水之后，反复测量了潜在的适应行为中涉及的候选行为（探索，取暖和热偏好）和生理特性（静止代谢和标准失水率）。我们观察到在缺水动物（一岁在缺水的头几周里晒太阳的时间更少）上的顺应性适应性反应，随后在接下来的几个月中，受水限制的动物的性别特异性生理后果延迟（雄性热抑郁和更低的温度）女性的标准蒸发失水率）。尽管限水对身体生长，年增长，生存，限水一岁和对照一岁之间的繁殖和繁殖没有显着差异。这表明对水限制的有益适应反应包括短期的灵活行为反应和热和水生物学特性的延迟变化。