Biophysical constraints on the thermal ecology of dinosaurs

Paleobiology ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. O'Connor ◽  
Peter Dodson

A physical, model-based approach to body temperatures in dinosaurs allows us to predict what ranges of body temperatures and what thermoregulatory strategies were available to those dinosaurs. We argue that 1.The huge range of body sizes in the dinosaurs likely resulted in very different thermal problems and strategies for animals at either end of this size continuum.2.Body temperatures of the smallest adult dinosaurs and of hatchlings and small juveniles would have been largely insensitive to metabolic rates in the absence of insulation. The smallest animals in which metabolic heating resulted in predicted body temperatures ≥ 2°C above operative temperatures (Te) weigh 10 kg. Body temperature would respond rapidly enough to changes in Te to make behavioral thermoregulation possible.3.Body temperatures of large dinosaurs (>1000 kg) likely were sensitive to both metabolic rate and the delivery of heat to the body surface by blood flow. Our model suggests that they could adjust body temperature by adjusting metabolic rate and blood flow. Behavioral thermoregulation by changing microhabitat selection would likely have been of limited utility because body temperatures would have responded only slowly to changes in Te.4.Endothermic metabolic rates may have put large dinosaurs at risk for overheating unless they had adaptations to shed the heat as necessary. This would have been particularly true for dinosaurs with masses > 10,000 kg, but simulations suggest that for animals as small as 1000 kg in the Tropics and in temperate latitudes during the summer, steady-state body temperatures would have exceeded 40°C. Slow response of body temperatures to changes in Te suggests that use of day-night thermal differences would have buffered dinosaurs from diel warming but would not have lowered body temperatures sufficiently for animals experiencing high mean daily Te.5.Endothermic metabolism and metabolic heating might have been useful for intermediate and large-sized (100–3000 kg) dinosaurs but often in situations that demanded marked seasonal adjustment of metabolic rates and/or precise control of metabolism (and heat-loss mechanisms) as typically seen in endotherms.

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 171359 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Teague O'Mara ◽  
Sebastian Rikker ◽  
Martin Wikelski ◽  
Andries Ter Maat ◽  
Henry S. Pollock ◽  
...  

Reduction in metabolic rate and body temperature is a common strategy for small endotherms to save energy. The daily reduction in metabolic rate and heterothermy, or torpor, is particularly pronounced in regions with a large variation in daily ambient temperature. This applies most strongly in temperate bat species (order Chiroptera), but it is less clear how tropical bats save energy if ambient temperatures remain high. However, many subtropical and tropical species use some daily heterothermy on cool days. We recorded the heart rate and the body temperature of free-ranging Pallas' mastiff bats ( Molossus molossus ) in Gamboa, Panamá, and showed that these individuals have low field metabolic rates across a wide range of body temperatures that conform to high ambient temperature. Importantly, low metabolic rates in controlled respirometry trials were best predicted by heart rate, and not body temperature . Molossus molossus enter torpor-like states characterized by low metabolic rate and heart rates at body temperatures of 32°C, and thermoconform across a range of temperatures. Flexible metabolic strategies may be far more common in tropical endotherms than currently known.


1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin S. Bedford ◽  
Keith A. Christian

Pythons have standard metabolic rates and preferred body temperatures that are lower than those of most other reptiles. This study investigated metabolic rates and preferred body temperatures of seven taxa of Australian pythons. We found that Australian pythons have particularly low metabolic rates when compared with other boid snakes, and that the metabolic rates of the pythons did not change either seasonally or on a daily cycle. Preferred body temperatures do vary seasonally in some species but not in others. Across all species and seasons, the preferred body temperature range was only 4.9˚C. The thermal sensitivity (Q10) of oxygen consumption by pythons conformed to the established range of between 2 and 3. Allometric equations for the pooled python data at each of the experimental temperatures gave an equation exponent of 0.72–0.76, which is similar to previously reported values. By having low preferred body temperatures and low metabolic rates, pythons appear to be able to conserve energy while still maintaining a vigilant ‘sit and wait’ predatory existence. These physiological attributes would allow pythons to maximise the time they can spend ‘sitting and waiting’ in the pursuit of prey.


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.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hews ◽  
Zahkeyah Allen ◽  
Adrienne Baxter ◽  
Jacquline Rich ◽  
Zahida Sheik ◽  
...  

AbstractBehavioral 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 temperature data 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.


1961 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
BODIL NIELSEN

1. In two species of Lacerta (L. viridis and L. sicula) the effects on respiration of body temperature (changes in metabolic rate) and of CO2 added to the inspired air were studied. 2. Pulmonary ventilation increases when body temperature increases. The increase is brought about by an increase in respiratory frequency. No relationship is found between respiratory depth and temperature. 3. The rise in ventilation is provoked by the needs of metabolism and is not established for temperature regulating purposes (in the temperature interval 10°-35°C). 4. The ventilation per litre O2 consumed has a high numerical value (about 75, compared to about 20 in man). It varies with the body temperature and demonstrates that the inspired air is better utilized at the higher temperatures. 5. Pulmonary ventilation increases with increasing CO2 percentages in the inspired air between o and 3%. At further increases in the CO2 percentage (3-13.5%) it decreases again. 6. At each CO2 percentage the pulmonary ventilation reaches a steady state after some time (10-60 min.) and is then unchanged over prolonged periods (1 hr.). 7. The respiratory frequency in the steady state decreases with increasing CO2 percentages. The respiratory depth in the steady state increases with increasing CO2 percentages. This effect of CO2 breathing is not influenced by a change in body temperature from 20° to 30°C. 8. Respiration is periodically inhibited by CO2 percentages above 4%. This inhibition, causing a Cheyne-Stokes-like respiration, ceases after a certain time, proportional to the CO2 percentage (1 hr. at 8-13% CO2), and respiration becomes regular (steady state). Shift to room air breathing causes an instantaneous increase in frequency to well above the normal value followed by a gradual decrease to normal values. 9. The nature of the CO2 effect on respiratory frequency and respiratory depth is discussed, considering both chemoreceptor and humoral mechanisms.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 691-702
Author(s):  
Sid Robinson

The central body temperature of a man rises gradually during the first half hour of a period of work to a higher level and this level is precisely maintained until the work is stopped; body temperature then slowly declines to the usual resting level. During prolonged work the temperature regulatory center in the hypothalamus appears to be reset at a level which is proportional to the intensity of the work and this setting is independent of environmental temperature changes ranging from cold to moderately warm. In hot environments the resistance to heat loss may be so great that all of the increased metabolic heat of work cannot be dissipated and the man's central temperature will rise above the thermostatic setting. If this condition of imbalance is continued long enough heat stroke will ensue. We have found that in a 3 mile race lasting only 14 minutes on a hot summer day a runner's rectal temperature may rise to 41.1°C., with heat stroke imminent. The physiological regulation of body temperature of men in warm environments and during the increased metabolic heat production of work is dependent on sweating to provide evaporative cooling of the skin, and on adjustments of cutaneous blood flow which determine the conductance of heat from the deeper tissues to the skin. The mechanisms of regulating these responses during work are complex and not entirely understood. Recent experiments carried out in this laboratory indicate that during work, sweating may be regulated by reflexes originating from thermal receptors in the veins draining warm blood from the muscles, summated with reflexes from the cutaneous thermal receptors, both acting through the hypothalamic center, the activity of which is increased in proportion to its own temperature. At the beginning of work the demand for blood flow to the muscles results in reflex vasoconstriction in the skin. As the body temperature rises the thermal demand predominates and the cutaneous vessels dilate, increasing heat conductance to the skin. Large increments in cardiac output and compensatory vasoconstriction in the abdominal viscera make these vascular adjustments in work possible without circulatory embarrassment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 543-549
Author(s):  
Helmy Yudhistira Putra ◽  
Utomo Budiyanto

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of preventive equipment such as masks and hand sanitizers has increased significantly. Likewise, thermometers are experiencing an increase and scarcity, this tool is also sought after by many companies for screening employees and guests before entering the building to detect body temperatures that are suspected of being positive for COVID-19. The use of a thermometer operated by humans is very risky because dealing directly with people who could be ODP (People Under Monitoring/Suscpected ) or even positive for COVID-19, therefore we need tools for automatic body temperature screening and do not involve humans for the examination. This research uses the MLX-90614 body temperature sensor equipped with an ultrasonic support sensor to detect movement and measure the distance between the forehead and the temperature sensor so that the body heat measurement works optimally, and a 16x2 LCD to display the temperature measurement results. If the measured body temperature is more than 37.5 ° C degrees Celsius then the buzzer will turn on and the selenoid door lock will not open and will send a notification to the Telegram messaging application. The final result obtained is the formation of a prototype device for measuring body temperature automatically without the need to involve humans in measuring body temperature to control people who want to enter the building so as to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (6Supl2) ◽  
pp. 4575
Author(s):  
Julyana Machado da Silva Martins ◽  
Evandro De Abreu Fernandes ◽  
João Paulo Rodrigues Bueno ◽  
Carolina Magalhães Caires Carvalho ◽  
Fernanda Heloisa Litz ◽  
...  

<p>The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different nutritional plans on the body temperature and organ biometrics in male and female broilers, of two ages. Here, 1,700 birds were used (850 males and 850 females) in a completely randomized design composed of five treatments (- 3%, - 1.5%, reference, + 1.5% and + 3%), with 10 repetitions, totaling 50 experimental units; the reference treatment based on nutritional and energy levels indicated in previous studies was calculated from this. At 35 and 42 d, the temperatures of the wing, head, shin, back, and cloaca in males and females were measured separately, and the average surface and body temperature were calculated. At 42 d, relative weights of the gizzard, liver, heart, and small intestine were calculated. The temperatures of the wings, back, and cloaca, and consequently the average surface temperature and body temperatures, were not affected by nutritional plans. Effects of increasing the nutritional and energy levels were observed on liver weights, the gizzard, and the small intestine. We conclude that the nutritional plans did not affect body temperature. Males had higher body temperatures than females. Body temperature increased with increase in age, and the increase in the nutritional plans increased liver weight and reduced the gizzard weights.</p>


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4698 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Daversa ◽  
Camino Monsalve-Carcaño ◽  
Luis M. Carrascal ◽  
Jaime Bosch

Risks of parasitism vary over time, with infection prevalence often fluctuating with seasonal changes in the annual cycle. Identifying the biological mechanisms underlying seasonality in infection can enable better prediction and prevention of future infection peaks. Obtaining longitudinal data on individual infections and traits across seasons throughout the annual cycle is perhaps the most effective means of achieving this aim, yet few studies have obtained such information for wildlife. Here, we tracked spiny common toads (Bufo spinosus) within and across annual cycles to assess seasonal variation in movement, body temperatures and infection from the fungal parasite, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Across annual cycles, toads did not consistently sustain infections but instead gained and lost infections from year to year. Radio-tracking showed that infected toads lose infections during post-breeding migrations, and no toads contracted infection following migration, which may be one explanation for the inter-annual variability in Bd infections. We also found pronounced seasonal variation in toad body temperatures. Body temperatures approached 0 °C during winter hibernation but remained largely within the thermal tolerance range of Bd. These findings provide direct documentation of migratory recovery (i.e., loss of infection during migration) and escape in a wild population. The body temperature reductions that we observed during hibernation warrant further consideration into the role that this period plays in seasonal Bd dynamics.


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