RT Journal Article
T1 Parasitemia and elevation as predictors of hemoglobin concentration and antioxidant capacity in two sympatric lizards
A1 Žagar, Anamarija
A1 Simčič, Tatjana
A1 Dajčman, Urban
A1 Megia Palma, Rodrigo Manuel
AB Studies which quantify the influence of abiotic factors on physiological variation are paramount to comprehend organismal responses to diverse environments. We studied three physiological aspects of metabolism in two sympatric and ecologically similar European lizard species, Podarcis muralis and Iberolacerta horvathi, across an 830-m elevational gradient. We collected blood samples and tail tips from adult lizards, which were analyzed for parasitemia, hemoglobin concentration, potential metabolic activity and catalase activity. Hemoglobin concentration was higher in males than females and it increased across elevation in one of the studied species – P. muralis. Parasitemia was not an important predictor of the variation in hemoglobin concentration, which suggests that blood parasites do not constraint the aerobic capacity of the lizards. On the other hand, catalase activity reflected increased antioxidant activity in the presence of higher parasitemia, possibly acting as an adaptive mechanism to reduce oxidative stress during immune activation. Potential metabolic activity, as a proxy for maximum respiratory enzymatic capacity, did not differ between species or sexes nor was it affected by elevation or levels of parasitemia. The results provide insight into the relationships between physiological, biotic, and environmental traits in sympatric lizards.
PB Elsevier
SN 1095-6433
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/113117
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/113117
LA eng
NO Žagar, A., Simčič, T., Dajčman, U., & Megía-Palma, R. (2022). Parasitemia and elevation as predictors of hemoglobin concentration and antioxidant capacity in two sympatric lizards. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology -Part A : Molecular and Integrative Physiology, 270. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CBPA.2022.111233
NO AŽ and TS were funded from the state budget by the Slovenian Research Agency (Programme P1-0255 and grant J1-2466) and Ph.D. fellowship No. 55809 awarded to UD. Collecting permit 35601-40/2017-4 was provided by Slovenian Environment Agency. RMP participates in the project PGC2018-097426-B-C21 of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/FEDER. RMP holds a postdoctoral contract (CEECIND/04084/2017) by BIOPOLIS and Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia of Portugal. We are very grateful for help in the field to Senda Reguera and Miha Krofel.
NO Slovenian Research Agency
NO Slovenian Environment Agency
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
NO European Commission
NO Biopolis (Portugal)
NO Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia of Portugal
DS Docta Complutense
RD 23 ene 2026