Racing Amidst Change: Urbanization and Climate Alter Functional Traits and Distribution of an Amazonian Parthenogenetic Lizard

Abstract

Habitat modification, including global climate change, deforestation, and urbanization, poses significant challenges for species. For organisms that can persist and thrive in altered landscapes, new habitat structures may lead to niche expansion and phenotypical changes. Here, we investigated the variation in morphology and thermal physiology between natural and neonative (urban) populations of Gymnophthalmus underwoodi Grant, 1958, a parthenogenetic lizard found in Amazonia, and forecasted its current and future distribution under climate change scenarios. We compared morphological and thermal traits and assessed urban environments as a potentially stressful habitat using asymmetry indexes. Additionally, we utilized a hybrid species distribution model to infer potential dispersion routes and changes in the species' distribution until 2100 under different climate change scenarios. We found that the neonative population demonstrates enhanced sprint performance compared to the native population as a result of larger hindfeet and forearms of individuals. The distribution model indicates a strong association of the species with open areas near rivers and cities, which may facilitate individuals' dispersion across southern Amazonia. Additionally, the species shows low risks of local extinction and a degree of tolerance to predicted future climates even in extreme scenarios, with distribution ranges inferred to increase over open areas within Amazonia. Our study represents one example in which an Amazonian thermoregulator lizard species may actually benefit from anthropogenic environmental changes, highlighting landscape modification as an important factor in the dispersion of neonative species.