scholarly journals Keeping cool in the heat: Behavioral thermoregulation and body temperature patterns in wild vervet monkeys

2019 ◽  
Vol 171 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard McFarland ◽  
Louise Barrett ◽  
Mary‐Ann Costello ◽  
Andrea Fuller ◽  
Robyn S. Hetem ◽  
...  
PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0247514
Author(s):  
Jean-François Le Galliard ◽  
David Rozen-Rechels ◽  
Anjélica Lecomte ◽  
Clémence Demay ◽  
Andréaz Dupoué ◽  
...  

Thermoregulation is critical for ectotherms as it allows them to maintain their body temperature close to an optimum for ecological performance. Thermoregulation includes a range of behaviors that aim at regulating body temperature within a range centered around the thermal preference. Thermal preference is typically measured in a thermal gradient in fully-hydrated and post-absorptive animals. Short-term effects of the hydric environment on thermal preferences in such set-ups have been rarely quantified in dry-skinned ectotherms, despite accumulating evidence that dehydration might trade-off with behavioral thermoregulation. Using experiments performed under controlled conditions in climatic chambers, we demonstrate that thermal preferences of a ground-dwelling, actively foraging lizard (Zootoca vivipara) are weakly decreased by a daily restriction in free-standing water availability (less than 0.5°C contrast). The influence of air humidity during the day on thermal preferences depends on time of the day and sex of the lizard, and is generally weaker than those of of free-standing water (less than 1°C contrast). This shows that short-term dehydration can influence, albeit weakly, thermal preferences under some circumstances in this species. Environmental humidity conditions are important methodological factors to consider in the analysis of thermal preferences.


1989 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Macdonald ◽  
N. R. Marshall ◽  
R. G. Pertwee

Mice exposed to normoxic He and Ne at increased pressure and allowed to choose between a neutral and a cool environment showed a preference for the cooler environment. This behavior was apparent at 5.7 but not at 2.5 atm He. At 11.3 atm He and Ne, the behavior was associated with a similar reduction in the deep body temperature to a new steady level. The reduction in body temperature increased with pressure, up to 35 atm He, the maximum studied. Since the heat transfer of the He and Ne gas mixtures is different and both gases exert negligible anesthetic effects, the hydrostatic pressure most likely affects behavioral thermoregulation by affecting neuronal function.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244458
Author(s):  
Sarah Hews ◽  
Zahkeyah Allen ◽  
Adrienne Baxter ◽  
Jacquline Rich ◽  
Zahida Sheikh ◽  
...  

Behavioral thermoregulation is an important defense against the negative impacts of climate change for ectotherms. In this study we examined the use of burrows by a common intertidal crab, Minuca pugnax, to control body temperature. To understand how body temperatures respond to changes in the surface temperature and explore how efficiently crabs exploit the cooling potential of burrows to thermoregulate, we measured body, surface, and burrow temperatures during low tide on Sapelo Island, GA in March, May, August, and September of 2019. We found that an increase in 1°C in the surface temperature led to a 0.70-0.71°C increase in body temperature for females and an increase in 0.75-0.77°C in body temperature for males. Body temperatures of small females were 0.3°C warmer than large females for the same surface temperature. Female crabs used burrows more efficiently for thermoregulation compared to the males. Specifically, an increase of 1°C in the cooling capacity (the difference between the burrow temperature and the surface temperature) led to an increase of 0.42-0.50°C for females and 0.34-0.35°C for males in the thermoregulation capacity (the difference between body temperature and surface temperature). The body temperature that crabs began to use burrows to thermoregulate was estimated to be around 24°C, which is far below the critical body temperatures that could lead to death. Many crabs experience body temperatures of 24°C early in the reproductive season, several months before the hottest days of the year. Because the use of burrows involves fitness trade-offs, these results suggest that warming temperatures could begin to impact crabs far earlier in the year than expected.


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (5) ◽  
pp. R1483-R1487 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Branco ◽  
S. C. Wood

We tested the hypothesis that hypercapnia will induce behavioral hypothermia in toads and that central chemoreceptors are involved in this response. Animals were tested in an enclosed temperature gradient supplied with different gas mixtures. Fractional inspired CO2 (FICO2) between 0 and 0.05 had no significant effect on selected body temperature, but FICO2 between 0.06 and 0.10 reduced the selected body temperature from U approximately 28 to 18 degrees C. To determine if the hypercapnia-induced hypothermia is mediated by acidification of central chemoreceptors, the pH of the fourth ventricle was kept constant by perfusion with mock cerebrospinal fluid of pH 7.7 or 7.1 (normal and acidic values, respectively). Ventricular perfusion at pH 7.7 under normocapnic conditions had no effect on body temperature. Hypercapnia (FICO2 0.08) failed to induce hypothermia when the fourth ventricle was kept at pH 7.7 and when hyperoxia was present. Acidic ventricular perfusion under normocapnic conditions decreased selected body temperature from 27 to 25 degrees C, a significant drop but much less than that due to hypercapnia producing the same brain pH, suggesting an important role of peripheral chemoreceptors. The physiological significance of behavioral hypothermia and nature of the peripheral stimulus were evaluated by measuring the effect of hypercapnia on arterial oxygen saturation, PO2, and pH at 15 and 25 degrees C. Arterial oxygen saturation was higher at the lower temperature. Increasing FICO2 decreased oxygen saturation at 25 degrees C but not at 15 degrees C. Arterial PO2 increased with increasing inspired CO2. This increase was greater at 15 degrees C than at 25 degrees C. Arterial pH decreased at both temperatures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (1) ◽  
pp. R134-R139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamae Yoda ◽  
Larry I. Crawshaw ◽  
Kyoko Yoshida ◽  
Liu Su ◽  
Takayoshi Hosono ◽  
...  

Homeothermic animals regulate body temperature (Tb) by using both autonomic and behavioral mechanisms. In the latter process, animals seek out cooler or warmer places when they are exposed to excessively hot or cold environments. Thermoregulation is affected by the state of energy reserves in the body. In the present study, we examine the effects of 4-day food deprivation on circadian changes in Tb and on cold-escape and heat-escape behaviors in rats. Continuous measurement of Tb during food deprivation indicated that the peak Tb amplitude was not different from baseline values, but the trough amplitude continuously decreased after the onset of food deprivation. Cold-escape behavior was facilitated by food deprivation, whereas heat-escape behavior was unchanged. After the termination of food deprivation, the lowered Tb returned to normal on the first day. However, cold-escape behavior was still facilitated on the third day after food reintroduction. Autonomic and behavioral thermoregulatory effectors are modulated in the face of food shortage so as to maintain optimal performance during the active period, whereas increasing energy conservation occurs during the quiescent phase.


2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah I Lutterschmidt ◽  
William I Lutterschmidt ◽  
Victor H Hutchison

Precise behavioral thermoregulation is well documented in many ectothermic vertebrates. However, many complexities involving the influence of the pineal gland and melatonin (MEL) on thermoregulatory behavior, and thus body temperature (Tb), remain unresolved. Although MEL is commonly considered to decrease Tb in both endotherms and ectotherms, several ectothermic species do not modulate Tb in response to MEL. Furthermore, it is not yet clear how MEL integrates thermoregulatory behavior with environmental stimuli or how it modulates Tb. Some inferences about MEL action in endotherms are not applicable to ectotherms. Changes in ectothermic Tb are mediated primarily through behavioral modulation (not physiological modulation as in endotherms). Thus, the most likely mechanism underlying MEL's actions on ectothermic Tb is adjustment of the temperature set point in the hypothalamus. We provide a review of the literature addressing the effects of MEL on thermoregulatory behavior in ectothermic vertebrates. We also discuss mechanisms underlying MEL's influence on physiological and behavioral processes in ectotherms and hypotheses regarding interspecific differences in pineal complex and MEL function.


1980 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Wilkinson ◽  
Harry J. Carlisle ◽  
Robert W. Reynolds

2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (3) ◽  
pp. E574-E581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cigdem Gelegen ◽  
David A. Collier ◽  
Iain C. Campbell ◽  
Hugo Oppelaar ◽  
Martien J. H. Kas

Food restriction paradigms are widely used in animal studies to investigate systems involved in energy regulation. We have observed behavioral, physiological, and molecular differences in response to food restriction in three inbred mouse strains, C57BL/6J, A/J, and DBA/2J. These are the progenitors of chromosome substitution and recombinant inbred mouse strains used for mapping complex traits. DBA/2J and A/J mice increased their locomotor activity during food restriction, and both displayed a decrease in body temperature, but the decrease was significantly larger in DBA/2J compared with A/J mice. C57BL/6J mice did not increase their locomotor activity and displayed a large decrease in their body temperature. The large decline in body temperature during food restriction in DBA/2J and C57BL/6J strains was associated with a robust reduction in plasma leptin levels. DBA/2J mice showed a marked decrease in white and brown adipose tissue masses and an upregulation of the antithermogenic hypothalamic neuropeptide Y Y1 receptor. In contrast, A/J mice showed a reduction in body temperature to a lesser extent that may be explained by downregulation of the thermogenic melanocortin 3 receptor and by behavioral thermoregulation as a consequence of their increased locomotor activity. These data indicate that genetic background is an important parameter in controlling an animal's adaptation strategy in response to food restriction. Therefore, mouse genetic mapping populations based on these progenitor lines are highly valuable for investigating mechanisms underlying strain-dependent differences in behavioral physiology that are seen during reduced food availability.


2002 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 512-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. Bicego ◽  
A. A. Steiner ◽  
J. Antunes-Rodrigues ◽  
L. G. S. Branco

We tested the hypothesis that PGs mediate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced behavioral fever in the toad Bufo paracnemis. Measurements of preferred body temperature (Tb) were performed with a thermal gradient. Toads were injected intraperitoneally with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (5 mg/kg), which inhibits PG biosynthesis, or its vehicle (Tris) followed 30 min later by LPS (0.2 and 2 mg/kg) into the lymph sac. LPS at the dose of 0.2 mg/kg caused a significant increase in Tb from 7 to 10 h after injection, and then Tb returned toward baseline values. LPS at the dose of 2 mg/kg produced a different pattern of response, with a longer latency to the onset of fever (10th h) and a longer duration (until the end of the experiment at the 15th h). Tris significantly attenuated the fever induced by LPS at 0.2 mg/kg, but not at 2 mg/kg. Moreover, indomethacin completely blocked the fever evoked by LPS (2 mg/kg). These results indicate that the behavioral fever induced by LPS in toads requires the activation of the COX pathway, suggesting that the involvement of PG in fever has an ancient phylogenetic history and that endogenous PGs raise the thermoregulatory set point to produce fever, because behavioral thermoregulation seems to be related to changes in the thermoregulatory set point.


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