Calcium provision to oviparous and viviparous embryos of the reproductively bimodal lizard Lacerta (Zootoca) vivipara

Abstract

SUMMARY Embryos of oviparous squamate reptiles typically obtain calcium from both yolk and eggshell but differ from other oviparous amniotes (turtles, birds and crocodilians) because they are heavily dependent on calcium-rich yolk. Eggs of viviparous squamates lack calcareous eggshells, and embryos receive calcium solely from yolk or from both yolk and placenta. The pattern of calcium mobilization by amniote embryos has been predicted to influence the evolution of viviparity if embryos are dependent on calcium from the eggshell and calcium placentotrophy evolves subsequent to viviparity. We studied the pattern of maternal provision and embryonic utilization of calcium of an oviparous and a viviparous population of the reproductively bimodal lizard Lacerta vivipara to test the hypotheses: (1) oviparous embryos are not dependent on eggshell calcium and (2) calcium content of viviparous hatchlings does not differ from oviparous hatchlings. Our findings do not support either of these hypotheses because oviparous females oviposited eggs with heavily calcified shells and calcium-poor yolk, and embryonic mobilization of shell calcium was greater than for other oviparous squamates. The calcium content of yolk from viviparous females did not differ from oviparous yolk, but viviparous eggs lacked calcareous eggshells. Uterine secretion by viviparous females compensated for the low calcium content of yolk, and placental calcium transfer was among the highest recorded for squamates. The pattern of calcium provision in these two populations suggests that dependence on uterine calcium, either stored temporarily in an eggshell or transferred directly across a placenta, did not constrain the evolution of reproductive mode in this lineage.