La Jornada: Scientist evaluates impact of climate change on lizards in Yucatan

At first glance they seem like just another part of the landscape of the coastal ecosystems of the Yucatan Peninsula. They are small, silent and get lost among the sand and vegetation, but for science, lizards could become a kind of “natural thermometer” of the planet.

An investigation led by Aníbal Díaz, from the National School of Higher Studies (ENES) Mérida of the UNAM, analyzes how the increase in temperature and the loss of vegetation could put these endemic reptiles at risk and, with them, the future of many other species due to global warming.

Like all reptiles, lizards do not have the ability to heat themselves through metabolic pathways and, therefore, require the temperature of their environment. For this reason, the ENES Mérida specialist pointed out that knowing the thermal conditions of their habitat allows us to evaluate how they could be affected by climate change.

Much of the academic’s research focuses on lizards in the coastal dunes of the Yucatan Peninsula, an ecosystem that offers fundamental environmental conditions for their survival.

The dunes not only provide them with warm sand to regulate their temperature, but also humidity, shelter and nesting sites. The vegetation of these sites is crucial because, among the plants, these beings find shade, protection and insects to feed on.

Coastal lizards are adapted to live in warm environments. To feed, move or reproduce they need environments between 30 and 40 degrees. However, rising global temperatures could push these beings beyond their limits.