DOI: 10.5061/dryad.j0j2b70
title: Data from: Some like it hot: from individual to population responses of an arboreal arid-zone gecko to local and distant climate

description: Accumulating evidence has demonstrated considerable impact of climate
 change on biodiversity, with terrestrial ectotherms being particularly
 vulnerable. While climate-induced range shifts are often addressed in the
 literature, little is known about the underlying ecological responses at
 individual and population levels. Using a 30-year monitoring study of the
 long-living nocturnal gecko Gehyra variegata in arid Australia, we
 determined the relative contribution of climatic factors acting locally
 (temperature, rainfall) or distantly (La Nin᷉a induced flooding) on
 ecological processes ranging from traits at the individual level (body
 condition, body growth) to the demography at population level (survival,
 sexual maturity, population sizes). We also investigated whether
 thermoregulatory activity during both active (night) and resting (daytime)
 periods of the day can explain these responses. Gehyra variegata responded
 to local and distant climatic effects. Both high temperatures and high
 water availability enhanced individual and demographic parameters.
 Moreover, the impact of water availability was scale-independent as local
 rainfall and La Nin᷉a induced flooding compensated each other. When water
 availability was low, however, extremely high temperatures delayed body
 growth and sexual maturity while survival of individuals and population
 sizes remained stable. This suggests a trade-off with traits at the
 individual level that may potentially buffer the consequences of adverse
 climatic conditions at the population level. Moreover, hot temperatures
 did not impact nocturnal nor diurnal behavior. Instead, only cool
 temperatures induced diurnal thermoregulatory behavior with individuals
 moving to exposed hollow branches and even outside tree hollows for
 sun-basking during the day. Since diurnal behavioral thermoregulation
 likely induced costs on fitness, this could decrease performance at both
 individual and population level under cool temperatures. Our findings show
 that water availability rather than high temperature is the limiting
 factor in our focal population of G. variegata. In contrast to previous
 studies, we stress that drier rather than warmer conditions are expected
 to be detrimental for nocturnal desert reptiles. Identifying the actual
 limiting climatic factors at different scales and their functional
 interactions at different ecological levels is critical to be able to
 predict reliably future population dynamics and support conservation
 planning in arid ecosystems.
description: Gehyra_dataThis file includes measurements of a capture-mark-recapture field study of Gehyra variegata over the course of 30 years (1986-2016). In comprises three tables: body temperatures during the day measured with RFID tags; body temperatures during the night measured with an IR thermometer; and individual capture-recapture data including exact time and location, lengths and mass measures, sexing and aging. For more detail, please refer to Grimm-Seyfarth et al., 2018, Ecological Monographs.