Negative effects on the adaptive strategies of the lizards (Eremias argus) under starvation after exposure to Glufosinate-ammonium

Abstract

Herbicide exposure poses a higher risk to reptiles due to their frequent contact with soil. Besides, food restriction is also a common environmental pressure that can seriously affect the survival of reptiles. The adaptive strategies of reptiles in the face of emerging herbicide pollution and food shortage challenges are not yet known. Therefore, Eremias Argus (a kind of small reptile) was selected as the model to simulate the real scenario of food shortage in lizards, aiming to explore the comprehensive impact of glufosinate-ammonium (GLA: an emerging herbicide) and food restriction on lizards. The results revealed that lizards often regulate their physiological and biochemical activities through body thermal selection and tend to choose lower body temperature, reduce digestibility, and actively participate in fat energy mobilization to avoid oxidative damage in the state of hunger, finally in order to achieve homeostasis. However, herbicide GLA disrupted the lizards' efforts to resist the stress of food shortage and interfered with the normal thermoregulation and energy mobilization strategies of lizards facing starvation. The results of this study would improve our understanding of the impacts of Lizards under extreme stresses, help supplement reptile toxicology data and provide scientific basis for the risk assessment of herbicide GLA.