Mediterranean lizards lighten their coloration to cope with wildfire heat

Wildfires can dramatically reshape animal habitats in a matter of days, stripping away shade and exposing surviving species to extreme heat. New research shows that a common Mediterranean lizard responds to intense fires by lightening its coloration, likely to curtail heat stress. “Our findings suggest that some species have the ability to adjust rapidly to postfire conditions, but this flexibility has limits,” Lola Álvarez-Ruiz, a researcher at the Centro de Investigaciones Sobre...