How Australian lizards evolved to escape fire

Australian researchers have discovered that the sleeping lizards (Tiliqua Rugosus) can recognize the smell of smoke as a sign of approach to fire and try to escape, but they do not respond to the sound of fire.

The study, published in Biology lettersProvides the first empirical test of a fun anecdote: when the zoo guards in an American zoo burned their lunch, they noticed that they were not alone in feeling acrid smoke. The captive sleeping lizards have become agitated by the smell that crossed the building, while other reptiles remained calm. Although they are mainly raised in captivity, the lizards defeated, punctuated and tried to escape – the researchers of Cehavior are now innate, not learned.

“Many animals from the regions subject to fires, such as Australia, seem to have this miraculous capacity to survive their home. Our study demonstrates that some lizards recognize smoke in a signal of fire and to react by fleeing,” said Dr. Chris Jolly of the University of Macquarie.

Forest fires intensifying under climate change, understanding how animals survive fires is essential. While people often assume that fire fauna has been unlikely, research reveals that many species have evolved strategies to detect and escape fire.

This study suggests that fire -subject environments have shaped the sensory systems and the behavior of animals such as sleeping lizards, allowing them to respond to smoke as an early alert signal.

“As fires become more frequent, intense and unpredictable – including in habitats that have rarely burned in the past, such as tropical forests – we must know which species can respond to fires and which are the most vulnerable,” said Dr. Jolly.

The researchers exposed lizards asleep with smoke and noise of crackling fire, associated with appropriate commands. The lizards fled the smoke but not sound, showing that their response is set to olfactory clues. The results support the idea that the species of the regions subject to fire have evolved behavioral adaptations to survive forest fires.

The work highlights the urgent need to understand animal survival strategies in a rapidly evolving climate. Fires are becoming more and more destructive worldwide and the loss of biodiversity is accelerating as species are faced with new shooting diets.

This content was initially published on the lighthouse of Macquarie University.