Soil Temperature Dynamics in Andasibe Rainforests: Implications for Chameleon Egg Incubation

The study by Negro, Radimbiniaina, and Negro provides valuable baseline data on soil temperatures in the rainforests of Andasibe, Madagascar. With 418 measurements across three protected areas, the authors document seasonal and daily fluctuations at a depth of 20 cm, highlighting differences between rainy and dry seasons. This dataset is a welcome addition, as soil temperature records from Madagascar remain scarce, and such information is crucial for understanding incubation conditions of chameleon eggs. The work demonstrates commendable field effort and offers practical relevance for herpetoculture, where breeders often seek to replicate natural incubation regimes.

However, methodological inconsistencies limit the broader applicability. Measurements were taken irregularly, with gaps (e.g., no data for December), and night‑time readings were too few for statistical analysis. More critically, most chameleon species in Andasibe do not lay eggs at 20 cm depth; species such as Brookesia superciliaris and thieli la eggs almost on the surface and Calumma gastrotaenia and Furcifer willsii can dig just few cemtimeters and even the bigger species like Calumma beevicorne or C. malthe typically use much shallower egglaying holes. Thus, the data may be most relevant for Calumma parsonii cristifer, but less so for other taxa. Furthermore, the study does not compare soil temperatures with widely available air temperature records, missing an opportunity to establish correlations that could allow extrapolation from more accessible datasets. Despite these limitations, the paper enriches our ecological understanding and provides a foundation for future, more refined studies.