How conserved is the thermal physiology of amphibians and reptiles?

In this review, an interinstitutional group of researchers - which included a PhD Student of the Graduate School in General Physiology at IB-USP - critically analyzed how conserved (or labile) the thermal physiology of amphibians and reptiles has been throughout their evolutionary history. Although there is evidence suggesting that the evolution of thermal physiology in amphibians and reptiles has occurred more slowly at the hot end of the Thermal Performance Curve than at the cold end (eg, heat tolerance vs. cold tolerance), recent work has pointed out evolutionary lability at multiple ecological and phylogenetic scales. This review stresses that understanding the interactions between thermoregulatory behavior, phenotypic plasticity, genetic architecture and ontogenetic context is fundamental for accurate prediction of the evolutionary potential of organisms in the face of climate change. LINK FOR THE PAPER: here