A 20-month recapture analysis of 1001 individually marked mesquite lizards (Sceloporus grammicus) suggests that variation in thermal quality across three altitudes influences survival probability. Each additional unit of deviation from the temperature selected by these lizards in previous laboratory experiments (i.e. decreased thermal quality) meant an increase of roughly 1.01% in survival probability. Survival probabilities ranged from 0.80 to 0.90 at the lowest elevation site (2600 m), from 0.76 to 0.87 at the middle elevation site (3100 m) and from 0.90 to 0.94 at the highest elevation site (4150 m). These results suggest that in poor thermal quality environments mesquite lizards may employ thermoregulatory strategies (behavioral, physiological and/or morphological) to decrease their metabolic expenditure and their exposure to predators, maximizing survival. These findings highlight the relevance of thermal quality of the habitat in determining survival probability of ectotherms.

中文翻译：

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生活在边缘：豆科蜥蜴（Sceloporus grammicus）在高海拔山区的热质量较低，但生存概率较高

对 1001 只单独标记的豆科植物蜥蜴 (Sceloporus grammicus) 进行的为期 20 个月的重新捕获分析表明，三个海拔高度的热质量变化会影响生存概率。这些蜥蜴在之前的实验室实验中选择的温度每增加一个单位（即降低的热质量）意味着生存概率大约增加 1.01%。最低海拔站点 (2600 m) 的生存概率范围为 0.80 至 0.90，中间海拔站点 (3100 m) 为 0.76 至 0.87，最高海拔站点 (4150 m) 为 0.90 至 0.94。这些结果表明，在较差的热质量环境中，豆科植物蜥蜴可能会采用体温调节策略（行为、生理和/或形态）来减少它们的代谢消耗和它们对捕食者的暴露，最大化生存。这些发现强调了栖息地的热质量在确定变温动物生存概率方面的相关性。