Carneiro, D., E. García-Muñoz, A. Kaliontzopoulou, G. A. Llorente & M. A. Carretero (2015) Salamandra 51(4). pp. 335-344.

In ectotherms, environmental factors shape the distribution of species mediated by ecophysiological constraints such as thermal requirements and water stress. Species with different distributions along an environmental gradient are expected to show contrasting  responses in thermal-gradient and water-stress lab experiments. We examined basic thermal and hydric physiological traits throughout the day in two related lizard species with different, but partially overlapping, distributions in the Iberian Peninsula: Podarcis liolepis (abundant but mostly restricted to northeastern Iberia) and P. muralis (restricted in Iberia but widespread across Europe). We expected P. liolepis to opt for higher preferred body temperatures and have lower water loss rates as compared to P. muralis. Surprisingly, results revealed no differences in preferred body temperatures between species or sexes. Conversely, interspecific differences in the temporal profiles of water
loss were found. Results suggest that water availability rather than thermal environment shapes the biogeographical patterns of both species.

Rato C, Harris DJ, Perera A, Carvalho SB, Carretero MA, Rödder D (2015) A Combination of Divergence and Conservatism in the Niche Evolution of the Moorish Gecko, Tarentola mauritanica (Gekkota: Phyllodactylidae). PLoS ONE 10(5): e0127980. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127980

The quantification of realized niche overlap and the integration of species distribution models (SDMs) with calibrated phylogenies to study niche evolution are becoming not only powerful tools to understand speciation events, but can also be used as proxies regarding the delimitation of cryptic species. We applied these techniques in order to unravel how the fundamental niche evolved during cladogenesis within the Tarentola mauritanica species-complex. Our results suggest that diversification within this complex, during the Miocene and Pleistocene, is associated with both niche divergence and niche conservatism, with a pattern that varies depending on whether the variables involved are related to the mean or seasonality of temperature and humidity. Moreover, climatic variables related to humidity and temperature seasonality were involved in the niche shift and genetic diversification of the European/North African clade during the Pleistocene and in its maintenance in a fundamental niche distinct from that of the remaining members of the group. This study further highlights the need for a taxonomic revision of the T. mauritanica species-complex

 Anamarija Žagar, Miguel A. Carretero, Nadja Osojnik, Neftalí Sillero, Al Vrezec. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. April 2015. We compared two competing lizard species (Podarcis muralis and Iberolacerta horvathi) that occupy sun-exposed gaps in a forested landscape in the Northern Dinaric Mountains (southern Europe). Leer más.

Elba María MONTES, Jaume ESTARELLAS, Enrique AYLLÓN, Miguel Ángel CARRETERO, Mónica FERICHE, Pedro Luís HERNÁNDEZ, Juan Manuel PLEGUEZUELOS. (Monografies de la Societat d’Història Natural de les Balears) 20:443-452. Les dades preliminars indiquen que dos espècies introduïdes a l’illa d’Eivissa estan naturalitzades i que són abundants a l’entorn de Santa Eulària des Riu, Sant Llorenç de Balàfia i Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera; predomina Hemorrhois hippocrepis i és més escassa Rhinechis scalaris; tanmateix, no hi ha dades de Malpolon monspessulanus des de 2010. Ir al enlace. (Aún no disponible en la web oficial). Acceso al pdf en ResearchGate.