Abstract：
The plateau environments are typically arid, cool, and high altitude, posing formidable challenges to wildlife survival due to resource scarcity and harsh conditions. Unraveling ecological adaptability in severe conditions requires a deeper understanding of the niche characteristics of plateau species. Trophic niche, which is a comprehensive indicator describing the energy acquisition strategy of animals, remains relatively understudied in plateau species. Here, by combining stable isotopes and morphological data, we quantified the trophic niches of two allopatric lizard species (Phrynocephalus vlangalii and P. erythrurus) that live in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and explored how their trophic niches correlate with morphological and environmental factors. While both trophic niche and morphological traits were similar between species, noteworthy distinctions were observed between male and female Phrynocephalus lizards. The morphological traits associated with predation (i.e. limb length and head size) and reproduction (i.e. abdomen length), annual mean temperature, and sex played influential roles in shifting trophic niches. These results imply that sexual dimorphism may facilitate inter-sex divergence in resource utilization, leading to trophic niche variations in the highland lizards. Furthermore, extreme environmental stress can constrain interspecific divergence in morphological and trophic traits. Our findings illustrate the dynamic variations of trophic niches in highland lizards, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the adaptation strategies employed by lizard species in plateau environments.
摘要：
高原环境通常是干旱的，酷,和高海拔，由于资源稀缺和恶劣的条件，对野生动物的生存构成了巨大的挑战。揭示在恶劣条件下的生态适应性需要对高原物种的生态位特征有更深入的了解。营养生态位，这是一个描述动物能量获取策略的综合指标，在高原物种中仍然相对缺乏研究。这里,通过结合稳定的同位素和形态数据，我们量化了生活在青藏高原腹地的两种异向蜥蜴（Phrynocalusvlangalii和P.erthrurus）的营养壁龛，并探讨了它们的营养生态位如何与形态和环境因素相关。虽然物种之间的营养生态位和形态特征相似，在雄性和雌性白头蜥蜴之间观察到值得注意的区别。与捕食（即肢体长度和头部大小）和繁殖（即腹部长度）相关的形态特征，年平均温度,性别在改变营养生态位方面发挥了重要作用。这些结果表明，性二态可能会促进资源利用中的性别间差异，导致高原蜥蜴的营养生态位变化。此外，极端的环境胁迫可以限制形态和营养性状的种间差异。我们的发现说明了高原蜥蜴营养壁龛的动态变化，有助于更全面地了解蜥蜴物种在高原环境中采用的适应策略。
