Seasonal shifts in nest temperature can modify the phenotypes of hatchling lizards, regardless of overall mean incubation temperature

摘要

1. The thermal regimes experienced by a reptilian egg can influence phenotypic traits (size, sex, shape, locomotor performance, etc.) of the hatchling that emerges from that egg. Natural nests of the oviparous scincid lizard Bassiana duperreyi in the Brindabella Range of south-eastern Australia show strong seasonal shifts in temperature: first and last weeks of incubation often differ by >5 degreesC.