As global warming worsens, the situation becomes more dire for many living organisms, including desert lizards, which are now forced to exert more effort in search of food, leading to severe consequences for their existence and role in the ecosystem.

The first lizards appeared on Earth about 100 million years ago, evolving from early reptiles. They have successfully adapted to the various changes that have occurred in the terrestrial ecosystem up to this day.

Recently, scientists estimate the total number of lizard species on Earth to be around 6,000. Lizards play a pivotal role in ecosystems and the food web; they contribute to seed dispersal and are a source of food for other animals.

Pressures

With the rise in temperatures due to the phenomenon of global warming, desert lizards have come under significant environmental pressures; they need to maintain their body temperatures within a certain range, but the fluctuations in the temperatures around them make them constantly in need of an energy source through which they can maintain their body temperatures.

And of course, the primary source of this energy is food. But the bigger problem is that food is scarce in those desert environments due to the hot weather, and with the worsening effects of global warming, the situation gets worse. Desert lizards face dire consequences as they must exert more effort to find food. This is what a research group from the University of Melbourne in Australia discussed. They published their findings in the journal "Science" on January 16, 2025.

Higher costs

The researchers wanted to calculate the amount of energy that desert lizards expend to obtain food and maintain their body heat in order to adapt to the surrounding thermal conditions. Rather, the researchers aimed to study the living costs of those lizards, represented in energy.

Therefore, the authors of the study designed a model that can predict the cost of living for those lizards, using historical field data, in order to measure the impact of rising temperatures on desert lizards. This model would help researchers predict the effects of temperature on other species threatened by high heat.

What did they find?

Researchers found that global warming increases the lizards' need for food, which is necessary to generate energy for survival. Diurnal lizards are under greater stress because they are forced to search for food in extreme temperatures during limited time periods, unlike nocturnal lizards that benefit from warm nights to spend more time hunting and foraging.

On the other hand, researchers have concluded that the hottest regions will face more challenges in the future for the species living there. The pressures on species specifically increase during the summer and spring seasons, which are the breeding seasons for most species.

Other species are facing pressures due to climate change and rising temperatures, putting them at risk of various dangers, which increases the need for stricter measures to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis.