Using connectivity to identify climatic drivers of local adaptation.

Understanding the climatic drivers of local adaptation is vital. Such knowledge is not only of theoretical interest but is critical to inform management actions under climate change, such as assisted translocation and targeted gene flow. Unfortunately, there are a vast number of potential trait-environment combinations, and simple relationships between trait and environment are ambiguous: representing either plastic or evolved variation. Here, we show that by incorporating connectivity as an index of gene flow, we can differentiate trait-environment relationships reflecting genetic variation vs. phenotypic plasticity. In this way, we rapidly shorten the list of trait-environment combinations that are of significance. Our analysis of an existing data set on geographic variation in a tropical lizard shows that we can effectively rank climatic variables by the strength of their role in local adaptation. The promise of our method is a rapid and general approach to identifying the environmental drivers of local adaptation.

Impact of 2019-2020 mega-fires on Australian fauna habitat.

Australia's 2019-2020 mega-fires were exacerbated by drought, anthropogenic climate change and existing land-use management. Here, using a combination of remotely sensed data and species distribution models, we found these fires burnt ~97,000 km2 of vegetation across southern and eastern Australia, which is considered habitat for 832 species of native vertebrate fauna. Seventy taxa had a substantial proportion (>30%) of habitat impacted; 21 of these were already listed as threatened with extinction. To avoid further species declines, Australia must urgently reassess the extinction vulnerability of fire-impacted species and assist the recovery of populations in both burnt and unburnt areas. Population recovery requires multipronged strategies aimed at ameliorating current and fire-induced threats, including proactively protecting unburnt habitats.

A new species of rock-dwelling gecko (Gekkonidae: Gehyra) from the Mt Surprise region of northern Queensland, Australia.

We describe a new species of rock-dwelling Gehyra Gray, 1834 (Gekkonidae) from the Einasleigh Uplands of inland north Queensland, Australia. Morphological, ecological, and molecular data clearly support the new species as distinct and place it within the 'australis group'. Gehyra electrum sp. nov. is distinguished from congeners by a combination of medium adult size (SVL 46-50 mm), an orange-brown to pinkish-orange background colouration with a pattern of distinct whitish spots and irregular black to purple-brown blotches or bars, possessing 7-8 undivided subdigital lamellae on the expanded portion of the fourth toe, and a wedge-shaped mental scale that separates the inner-postmental scales along 40% or more of their length. Gehyra electrum sp. nov. is a rock specialist currently known only from granite outcrops of the Mt Surprise region, Queensland. This is the second recently described Gehyra from the Einasleigh Uplands and adds to the growing number of endemic reptiles recognised in the region.

Adjusting to climate: Acclimation, adaptation and developmental plasticity in physiological traits of a tropical rainforest lizard.

The impact of climate change may be felt most keenly by tropical ectotherms. In these taxa, it is argued, thermal specialization means a given shift in temperature will have a larger effect on fitness. For species with limited dispersal ability, the impact of climate change depends on the capacity for their climate-relevant traits to shift. Such shifts can occur through genetic adaptation, various forms of plasticity, or a combination of these processes. Here we assess the extent and causes of shifts in 7 physiological traits in a tropical lizard, the rainforest sunskink (Lampropholis coggeri). Two populations were sampled that differ from each other in both climate and physiological traits. We compared trait values in each animal soon after field collection versus following acclimation to laboratory conditions. We also compared trait values between populations in: (i) recently field-collected animals; (ii) the same animals following laboratory acclimation; and (iii) the laboratory-reared offspring of these animals. Our results reveal high trait lability, driven primarily by acclimation and local adaptation. By contrast, developmental plasticity, resulting from incubation temperature, had little to no effect on most traits. These results suggest that, while specialized, tropical ectotherms may be capable of rapid shifts in climate-relevant traits.