scholarly journals Phenotypic flexibility in heat production and heat loss in response to thermal and hydric acclimation in the zebra finch, a small arid-zone passerine

Author(s):  
Michał S. Wojciechowski ◽  
Anna Kowalczewska ◽  
Roger Colominas-Ciuró ◽  
Małgorzata Jefimow

AbstractTo maintain constant body temperature (Tb) over a wide range of ambient temperatures (Ta) endothermic animals require large amounts of energy and water. In hot environments, the main threat to endothermic homeotherms is insufficient water to supply that necessary for thermoregulation. We investigated flexible adjustment of traits related to thermoregulation and water conservation during acclimation to hot conditions or restricted water availability, or both, in the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata a small arid-zone passerine. Using indirect calorimetry, we measured changes in whole animal metabolic rate (MR), evaporative heat loss (EHL) and Tb before and after acclimation to 23 or 40 °C, with different availability of water. Additionally, we quantified changes in partitioning of EHL into respiratory and cutaneous avenues in birds exposed to 25 and 40 °C. In response to heat and water restriction zebra finches decreased MR, which together with unchanged EHL resulted in increased efficiency of evaporative heat loss. This facilitated more precise Tb regulation in heat-acclimated birds. Acclimation temperature and water availability had no effect on the partitioning of EHL into cutaneous or respiratory avenues. At 25 °C, cutaneous EHL accounted for ~ 60% of total EHL, while at 40 °C, its contribution decreased to ~ 20%. Consistent among-individual differences in MR and EHL suggest that these traits, provided that they are heritable, may be a subject to natural selection. We conclude that phenotypic flexibility in metabolic heat production associated with acclimation to hot, water-scarce conditions is crucial in response to changing environmental conditions, especially in the face of current and predicted climate change.

1980 ◽  
Vol 238 (5) ◽  
pp. R400-R405 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Laudenslager ◽  
C. W. Wilkinson ◽  
H. J. Carlisle ◽  
H. T. Hammel

The effect of estrogen replacement on several parameters of energy balance was investigated in ovariectomized rats tested during the dark phase of their diurnal cycle. Estrogen replacement, either as 17 beta-estradiol or beta-estradiol-3-benzoate via subcutaneous Silastic capsules, was associated with elevated rates of heat production and dry heat loss relative to untreated ovariectomized controls. Estrogen treatment reduced body mass and retarded fur growth. The effects of estrogen replacement on heat production and dry heat loss could not be attributed to these differences in body mass and fur growth or locomotor activity. Estrogen replacement had no effect on rate of evaporative heat loss. If estrogen replacement was delayed 75 days following ovariectomy, the increase in heat production and dry heat loss was not observed. There was no effect of the hormone treatment on rectal temperature. It was concluded that either heat production was elevated, with dry heat loss increased to compensate for the additional thermal load, or dry heat loss was accelerated with heat production elevated in compensation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (11) ◽  
pp. 1523-1533 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.P. Roberts ◽  
J.F. Harrison

Thermoregulation of the thorax allows honeybees (Apis mellifera) to maintain the flight muscle temperatures necessary to meet the power requirements for flight and to remain active outside the hive across a wide range of air temperatures (Ta). To determine the heat-exchange pathways through which flying honeybees achieve thermal stability, we measured body temperatures and rates of carbon dioxide production and water vapor loss between Ta values of 21 and 45 degrees C for honeybees flying in a respirometry chamber. Body temperatures were not significantly affected by continuous flight duration in the respirometer, indicating that flying bees were at thermal equilibrium. Thorax temperatures (Tth) during flight were relatively stable, with a slope of Tth on Ta of 0.39. Metabolic heat production, calculated from rates of carbon dioxide production, decreased linearly by 43 % as Ta rose from 21 to 45 degrees C. Evaporative heat loss increased nonlinearly by over sevenfold, with evaporation rising rapidly at Ta values above 33 degrees C. At Ta values above 43 degrees C, head temperature dropped below Ta by approximately 1–2 degrees C, indicating that substantial evaporation from the head was occurring at very high Ta values. The water flux of flying honeybees was positive at Ta values below 31 degrees C, but increasingly negative at higher Ta values. At all Ta values, flying honeybees experienced a net radiative heat loss. Since the honeybees were in thermal equilibrium, convective heat loss was calculated as the amount of heat necessary to balance metabolic heat gain against evaporative and radiative heat loss. Convective heat loss decreased strongly as Ta rose because of the decrease in the elevation of body temperature above Ta rather than the variation in the convection coefficient. In conclusion, variation in metabolic heat production is the dominant mechanism of maintaining thermal stability during flight between Ta values of 21 and 33 degrees C, but variations in metabolic heat production and evaporative heat loss are equally important to the prevention of overheating during flight at Ta values between 33 and 45 degrees C.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1339-1346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Roos ◽  
Claus Jessen

Experiments in conscious goats were done to see whether heat production and respiratory evaporative heat loss show dynamic responses to changing core temperature at constant skin temperature. Core temperature was altered by external heat exchangers acting on blood temperature, while skin temperature was maintained constant by immersing the animals up to the neck in a rapidly circulating water bath. Core temperature was altered at various rates up to 0.9 °C/min. Step deviations of core temperature from control values were always followed by a positive time derivative of effector response, but never by a negative time derivative during sustained displacement of core temperature. Ramp experiments showed that the slopes at which heat production or heat loss rose with core temperature deviating from its control level grew smaller at higher rates of change of core temperature. It is concluded that neither heat production nor respiratory evaporative heat loss respond to the rate of change of core temperature. At constant skin temperature, thermoregulatory effector responses appear to be proportional to the degree to which core temperature deviates from its set level.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Lin

The thermal responses of three groups of control, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) treated and 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) treated rabbits to the administration of chlorpromazine (CPZ) were assessed at three different ambient temperatures (Ta: 2, 22, and 32 °C). Depleting catecholamines (CA) in brain with 6-OHDA produced a decrease in metabolic rate, in respiratory evaporative heat loss, and in ear blood flow at both Ta's of 2 and 22 °C, while depleting 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) contents in brain with 5,7-DHT produced the opposite responses at the same Ta's. However, these amine-depleted animals maintained their rectal temperatures within normal limits over a wide range of Ta's tested. Furthermore, intraperitoneal administration of CPZ produced hypothermia at both Ta's of 2 and 22 °C. The major cause of the CPZ-induced hypothermia was an inhibition of metabolic heat production at Ta of 2 °C. At Ta of 22 °C, the CPZ-induced hypothermia was due to both a decrease in heat production and an increase in ear blood flow. However, CPZ hypothermia was attenuated in the CA-depleted animals, but was potentiated in the 5-HT-depleted animals. The data indicate that brain monoamines are involved in the central mechanisms of CPZ-induced hypothermia.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 1401-1406 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Lin ◽  
Andi Chandra ◽  
T. C. Fung

The effects of both systemic and central administration of phentolamine on the thermoregulatory functions of conscious rats to various ambient temperatures were assessed. Injection of phentolamine intraperitoneally or into a lateral cerebral ventricle both produced a dose-dependent fall in rectal temperature at room temperature and below it. At a cold environmental temperature (8 °C) the hypothermia in response to phentolamine was due to a decrease in metabolic heat production, but at room temperature (22 °C) the hypothermia was due to cutaneous vasodilatation (as indicated by an increase in foot and tail skin temperatures) and decreased metabolic heat production. There were no changes in respiratory evaporative heat loss. However, in the hot environment (30 °C), phentolamine administration produced no changes in rectal temperature or other thermoregulatory responses. A central component of action is indicated by the fact that a much smaller intraventricular dose of phentolamine was required to exert the same effect as intraperitoneal injection. The data indicate that phentolamine decreases heat production and (or) increases heat loss which leads to hypothermia, probably via central nervous system actions.


1980 ◽  
Vol 239 (1) ◽  
pp. R57-R61
Author(s):  
P. E. Hillman ◽  
N. R. Scott ◽  
A. van Tienhoven

Intraventricular injections of 5-hydroxytryptamine-HCl (258 nmol) or acetylcholine-HCl (550 nmol) in the chicken caused body temperature to rise at 35 degrees C ambient, a result of decreased evaporative heat loss due to bradypnea. At 10 and 20 degrees C ambient, neither drug affected body temperature. Although these drugs decreased physical activity or shivering or both at 10 and 20 degrees C, metabolic heat production was not depressed enough to alter body temperature significantly. Heart rate decreased simultaneously with decreased activity at 20 degrees C. This study is the first to inject 5-hydroxytryptamine as a salt of HCl, instead of creatinine sulfate, as is commonly used. It is suggested that some of the differences reported herein, compared to other studies, are due to the type of salt used. It is postulated that either 5-hydroxytryptamine or acetylcholine, rather than norepinephrine, may be an important neurotransmitter in the neural pathways for thermoregulation in chickens, even though their action on thermoregulation is minor compared with norepinephrine.


1980 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Dauncey

1. The metabolic effects of increasing or decreasing the usual energy intake for only 1 d were assessed in eight adult volunteers. Each subject lived for 28 h in a whole-body calorimeter at 26° on three separate occasions of high, medium or low energy intake. Intakes (mean±SEM) of 13830 ± 475 (high), 8400 ± 510 (medium) and 3700 ± 359 (low) kJ/24 h were eaten in three meals of identical nutrient composition.2. Energy expenditure was measured continuously by two methods: direct calorimetry, as total heat loss partitioned into its evaporative and sensible components; and indirect calorimetry, as heat production calculated from oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. For the twenty-four sessions there was a mean difference of only 1.2 ± 0.14 (SEM)% between the two estimates of 24 h energy expenditure, with heat loss being less than heat production. Since experimental error was involved in both estimates it would be wrong to ascribe greater accuracy to either one of the measures of energy expenditure.3. Despite the wide variation in the metabolic responses of the subjects to over-eating and under-eating, in comparison with the medium intake the 24 h heat production increased significantly by 10% on the high intake and decreased by 6% on the low intake. Mean (± SEM) values for 24 h heat production were 8770 ± 288, 7896 ± 297 and 7495 ± 253 kJ on the high, medium and low intakes respectively. The effects of over-eating were greatest at night and the resting metabolic rate remained elevated by 12% 14 h after the last meal. By contrast, during under-eating the metabolic rate at night decreased by only 1%.4. Evaporative heat loss accounted for an average of 25% of the total heat loss at each level of intake. Changes in evaporative heat loss were +14% on the high intake and −10% on the low intake. Sensible heat loss altered by +9% and −5% on the high and low intakes respectively.5. It is concluded that (a) the effects on 24 h energy expenditure of over-feeding for only 1 d do not differ markedly from those estimated by some other workers after several weeks of increasing the energy intake; (b) the resting metabolic rate, measured at least 14 h after the last meal, can be affected by the previous day's energy intake; (c) the zone of ambient temperature within which metabolism is minimal is probably altered by the level of energy intake.


1972 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. McLean ◽  
D. T. Calvert

SUMMARYThe balance between heat production and heat loss and the partition of heat exchanges of cattle in relation to air humidity has been studied at two different air temperatures using a direct (gradient-layer) calorimeter.Increasing humidity at 35 °C air temperature caused no significant change in heat production or in the level of total heat loss finally attained, but body temperature and respiratory activity were both increased.Increasing humidity at 15 °C air temperature caused a small reduction in heat loss by evaporation but had no effect on sensible heat loss, body temperature or respiratory frequency.Heat loss by evaporation amounted to 18% of the total heat loss at 15 °C and to 84% at 35 °C.Heat loss by respiratory evaporation amounted to 54% of the total evaporative heat loss at 15 °C and to 38% at 35 °C.


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