Date of Graduation

Spring 5-20-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Animal Physiology, Biology

Thesis Chair

Charles Watson

Abstract

Ectotherms rely on their environment to regulate and maintain their body temperature. For this reason, environmental fluctuations strongly impact their biology. Lizards are ectotherms that are suitable models to investigate thermal physiology. However, the bulk of this research has been studied using new world Anolis lizards. In this study, the giant day gecko, (P.grandis), native to Madagascar but invasive in Florida, was selected as a model for comparison. In our physiotype of P.grandis we included measurements such as metabolic rates, sprint speed at relevant temperatures, thermal preference, critical thermal minimum, and voluntary thermal maximum. Our findings showed that the geckos maintained a relatively stable metabolic rate across relevant temperatures. As expected, their thermal preference was relatively near the voluntary thermal maximum. These results suggest that P.grandis has adapted well to warm environments. However, the stable metabolic rate may be a result of secondarily evolving diurnality.

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