Ecology
In warmer conditions, lizards get smarter, which means that as the world “warms up” they gain a competitive advantage. Previous studies have shown that some lizard species grow larger when their eggs are incubated in a warmer environment.
Joshua Amiel and his colleagues from the University of Sydney, Australia, decided to test whether larger lizards are able to learn better. To do this, 9 lizard eggs were incubated in fairly cold conditions (8.5 — 23.5 degrees Celsius), and 12 in warm conditions (14.5 — 29.5 degrees).
Once the lizards hatched, they were placed in plastic containers, one part of which was equipped with an impenetrable labyrinth and the other part was freely accessible. The researchers, playing predators, touched the lizards' tails and observed their direction of movement. After conducting the experiment 16 times, five out of nine lizards that hatched from eggs incubated at a lower temperature were sent to a shelter from which there was no escape. Only one of the 12 lizards in the second group made such a mistake.
“It seems that climate change is only good for these creatures,” says Emil. However, for all other reptiles, global warming is bad news, as it is accompanied by a significant decrease in populations.