Andrews Robin M
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
J Exp Zool A Ecol Genet Physiol. 2008 Oct 1;309(8):435-46. doi: 10.1002/jez.470.
I evaluated the effect of incubation temperature on phenotypes of the veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus. I chose this species for study because its large clutch size (30-40 eggs or more) allows replication within clutches both within and among experimental treatments. The major research objectives were (1) to assess the effect of constant low, moderate, and high temperatures on embryonic development, (2) to determine whether the best incubation temperature for embryonic development also produced the "best" hatchlings, and (3) to determine how a change in incubation temperature during mid-development would affect phenotype. To meet these objectives, I established five experimental temperature regimes and determined egg survival and incubation length and measured body size and shape, selected body temperatures, and locomotory performance of lizards at regular intervals from hatching to 90 d, or just before sexual maturity. Incubation temperature affected the length of incubation, egg survival, and body mass, but did not affect sprint speed or selected body temperature although selected body temperature affected growth in mass independently of treatment and clutch. Incubation at moderate temperatures provided the best conditions for both embryonic and post-hatching development. The highest incubation temperatures were disruptive to development; eggs had high mortality, developmental rate was low, and hatchlings grew slowly. Changes in temperature during incubation increased the among-clutch variance in incubation length relative to that of constant temperature treatments.
我评估了孵化温度对蒙面避役（Chamaeleo calyptratus）表型的影响。我选择这个物种进行研究，是因为它的产卵量大（30 - 40枚卵或更多），这使得在实验处理内和处理间的窝内都能进行重复实验。主要研究目标是：（1）评估恒定的低温、中温和高温对胚胎发育的影响；（2）确定胚胎发育的最佳孵化温度是否也能产生“最佳”的幼体；（3）确定发育中期孵化温度的变化如何影响表型。为了实现这些目标，我建立了五种实验温度方案，确定了卵的存活率和孵化时长，并定期测量蜥蜴从孵化到90天或性成熟前的体长和体型、选定体温以及运动表现。孵化温度影响孵化时长、卵的存活率和体重，但不影响冲刺速度或选定体温，尽管选定体温独立于处理和窝对体重增长有影响。中等温度下的孵化对胚胎发育和孵化后发育都提供了最佳条件。最高的孵化温度对发育有干扰；卵的死亡率高，发育速度低，幼体生长缓慢。与恒温处理相比，孵化期间温度的变化增加了窝间孵化时长的方差。
