Influences of seasonalIty, thermal envIronment and wInd IntensIty on the thermal ecology of brazIlIan sand lIzards In a restInga remnant Thiago Maia-Carneiro 1,4 , Thiago arnT Dorigo 1,2 , anD Carlos FreDeriCo DuarTe roCha 1,3 1. Depto. de Ecologia, Univ. do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Rua São Francisco Xavier. 524, CEP 20550‑013, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. 2. E‑mail: tdorigo@globo.com 3. E‑mail: cfdrocha@uerj.br 4. E‑mail corresponding author: thiagomaianc@gmail.com absTraCT. we evaluated the importance of thermal environment and wind intensity to the body temperature (t b ) and activity rates of Liolaemus lutzae (a lizard species restricted to restingas in the state of rio de Janeiro, southeastern brazil), looking for seasonal changes. field work was carried out in restinga of Praia grande, municipality of arraial do cabo. In the dry season, lizards’ activity started (07:00 h) and ended (18:00 h) latter compared to the rainy season (start: 06:00 h; end: 17:00 h). the body temperature of active L. lutzae individuals varied along day (lower in the start and in the end of their daily activity period), and achieved higher values in the rainy season. the lizards’ body temperatures were related to substrate temperature and to air temperature in both seasons. variations in t b of L. lutzae reflect variations in microhabitat temperatures, the main environmental factors affecting its thermoregulation. the wind intensity affected the t b of L. lutzae, promoting heat loss by individuals. the mean wind intensity per transect influenced the number of lizards in the habitat causing diminishment. evaluation of our data indicated that seasonal varia- tions, thermal environments, and wind speed influence both body temperature and activity rates of lizards. Key-WorDs. activity; body temperature; extrinsic factors; liolaemini; Liolaemus; Liolaemus lutzae; microhabitat temperatures; wind speed. inTroDuCTion It is well known the importance of environmental factors affecting lizards, which use predominantly air temperature, substrate temperature and direct solar ir- radiation for the adjustment of their body temperature into suitable ranges to realize different physiological and ecological activities (adolph and Porter, 1993; rocha, 1995a; rocha and vrcibradic, 1996; menezes et al., 2000; brown et al., 2004; anaya-rojas et al., 2010; maia-carneiro and rocha, 2013). changes in local climatic characteristics, for instance thermal environment temperatures, can alter activity patterns and body temperature of lizards either along day, be- tween consecutive days, or seasonally (rocha, 1988, 1995a; vrcibradic and rocha, 1995; rocha and vrci- bradic, 1996; verrastro and bujes, 1998; bujes and verrastro, 2006; rocha et al., 2009a, b). the wind also has been suggested as an impor- tant factor affecting the body temperature of active lizards inhabiting coastal areas (such as restingas), because they constantly experience different and in- tense wind regimes (fuentes and Jaksic, 1979; bujes and verrastro, 2006; ariani et al., 2011). the exposi- tion to such environmental conditions makes coastal dwelling lizard species suitable subjects for studies which aim to investigate the influence of wind to the thermal ecology of these animals. however, no study provided information of body temperature changes arising from the intensity of prevailing winds in the environment, despite wind might potentially decrease the body temperatures of lizards and therefore affect ecological and physiological processes (brown et al., 2004). besides environmental factors, historic fac- tors related to phylogeny (bogert, 1949; Kiefer et al., 2005; rocha et al., 2009b), and aspects of ecology and natural history (for instance behavior – rocha et al., 2009b; gandolfi and rocha, 1998; maia-car- neiro and rocha, 2013) are also of relevance for body temperature regulation by lizards. Liolaemus lutzae mertens, 1938 (liolaemidae) is a lizard species restricted to restingas in the coast of the state of rio de Janeiro which has geographic dis- tribution between the restinga da marambaia in the municipality of rio de Janeiro, and the restinga da Praia do Peró in the municipality of cabo frio (van- zolini and ab’saber, 1968; rocha et al., 2009c). this species occupy a particular spatial niche, living in the beach habitat covered by plants adapted to well- drained sandy soils and salt stress, high temperatures, and winds (halophilous-psammophilous-reptant veg- etation zone) near to the sea, in the restingas of the state (rocha, 1991; rocha et al., 2009c; maia-car- neiro and rocha, in press). recently, L. lutzae was identified as under a great probability of extinction in the next few decades because of its thermal niche alteration caused by climatic changes (sinervo et al., 2010). South American Journal of Herpetology, 7(3), 2012, 241-251 © 2012 brazilian society of herpetology