Activity times and body temperature in Australian copperheads (Serpentes : Elapidae)

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Detlef H. Rohr ◽  
Brian S. Malone
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Active Season ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Cool Temperate ◽  
Warm Temperate ◽  
Activity Times

Local climatic conditions influence the way in which ectotherms regulate their body temperature and activity. We examined correlations between local climatic conditions, body temperature and activity in adult, basking lowland copperheads (Austrelaps superbus) from two localities (warm-temperate versus cool-temperate) in south-eastern Australia. We also collected data from highland copperheads (Austrelaps ramsayi) at a locality with cold-temperate climate. We found that across the active season, mean body temperatures were similar among localities (approximately 27˚C) irrespective of species. In contrast, activity times differed. Cool-temperate A. superbus emerged earlier in spring and in the morning and retreated earlier in the evening and in autumn than their conspecifics from the warm-temperate locality. Spring emergence was correlated with yearly fluctuations in thermal conditions, suggesting that activity times depend on environmental temperatures. Predator–prey interactions influenced body temperature and activity to some extent in spring when warm-temperate A. superbus with relatively low body temperatures (as low as 18.5˚C) were captured around ponds in which they had been foraging for frogs. Austrelaps ramsayi from the cold-temperate locality not only displayed a later emergence in spring and reduced daily activity times compared with warm and cool-temperate A. superbus but also compared with A. ramsayi, as reported from a warmer locality in eastern Australia. These data indicate that activity times vary on a geographic basis while snake body temperatures largely remain inflexible. The surprising exception was that cold-temperate A. ramsayi retreated later in autumn than cool-temperate A. superbus, and at that time they showed body temperatures as low as 12.5˚C, well below those we had recorded for A. superbus. We suggest that A. ramsayi retreat later in autumn because they need to extend their reproductive season and that this is mediated via adaptive changes in the critical minimum body temperature, as has been reported for other snakes.

scholarly journals Interspecific Interactions: A Case Study using the Tuatara-Fairy Prion Association

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ilse Corkery
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Burrow Use

<p>Some of the key relationships in the life of an organism are interactions with individuals of other species within the community, for example, negative interactions such as predation and competition are well known to shape natural communities. Positive interactions also have well documented influences, such as intertidal seaweed canopies extending the distribution of many organisms to higher tidal heights, by reducing thermal and desiccation stresses. However, investigating interactions and measuring their significance for fitness is notoriously difficult. For example, several groups of fish are known to ‘clean’ other fish species by feeding on their ectoparasites, a mutually beneficial arrangement. However, foraging by cleaners can damage scales of their hosts and this interaction can become parasitic in times of low ectoparasite abundance. Using both field and laboratory data, I investigated factors that influenced the dynamics of an unusual vertebrate association, the cohabitation of tuatara and fairy prions in a burrow. The end goal was to contribute to the understanding of the classification of this association. The fairy prion is a seabird that comes to land only for the breeding season and the tuatara is a burrowing reptile, active primarily at night in a temperate climate. Specifically, I measured the effects that this association had on tuatara thermoregulation, and demonstrated the difficulty in applying that information to categorize a complex interaction. Investigations into the temporal and spatial habitat of the tuatara, and the degree to which this influenced thermal opportunities, revealed that mean tuatara body temperatures were always within mean environmental temperatures. Males and females did not differ in mean body temperature or effectiveness of thermoregulation. Body size did not predict body temperature or cooling rates, but heating rates were influenced, with larger animals heating faster than smaller individuals. The presence of a fairy prion in a burrow increased humidity within the burrow, and tuatara that occupied burrows containing a fairy prion were able to maintain up to 1.8°C higher body temperatures through the night during the austral summer months. Thus, burrow use behaviour and burrow selection had greater influences on tuatara body temperature than an individual’s sex or size. Experimental evidence revealed that tuatara are capable of adjusting their habitat selection behaviour in response to different humidity constraints. More time was spent outside the burrows and tuatara were more active under humid laboratory conditions. Use of the burrow by tuatara almost halved the time that fairy prions spent at the burrow with their chick, indicating that tuatara were having a negative effect on fairy prions’ use of their burrow. There was no evidence to support the fact that fairy prions were gaining any fitness benefits from their association with tuatara. Thus, we cannot call this interaction a commensalism or a mutualism. In certain instances, it may be that this interaction is best classed as a parasitism with the tuatara benefitting from burrow use and easy predation opportunities, to the detriment of the lifetime reproductive success of the fairy prion. In other instances it may simply be a case of competition for a limited resource (a burrow) with the outcome varying depending on the individuals and the circumstances involved. Being able to categorize interactions between species of high conservation value or at least to have an understanding of the costs and benefits associated with the interaction is desirable for conservation purposes, as failure to consider the ecological network within which a threatened species is embedded, may lead to counterproductive management measures. Further, these results can be used to develop future research into how climatic changes in temperature and rainfall may interact with habitat availability to influence the full range of natural outcomes of the tuatara-fairy prion association.</p>

Rainforest Restoration Manual for South-Eastern Australia

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Peel
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Background Information ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Cool Temperate ◽  
Species Lists ◽  
Feral Animals ◽  
Warm Temperate ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Rainforest Restoration Manual for South-Eastern Australia is the definitive guide to the recovery and restoration of Subtropical, Warm Temperate, Cool Temperate, Gallery, Dry, Dry Gully and Littoral Rainforests from south-eastern Queensland to Tasmania. All of these rainforest types were inherently rare prior to settlement, and today with depletion, feral animals, weeds and climate change, all are threatened – with many listed under state and federal legislation. The manual presents detailed restoration methods in 10 easy-to-follow steps, documenting the research and trials undertaken during rainforest restoration over more than two decades. These experiments and their results will empower readers to uncover answers to many of the problems they could encounter. The manual is supported by a CD that provides important background information, with 32 appendices, a propagation manual for the region's 735 rainforest plants, an illustrated glossary and resources for teachers. Species lists and specific planting guides are provided for the 57 rainforest floristic communities that occur from the coast to the mountains between Durras Mountain in New South Wales and the Otways in Victoria. Extensively illustrated with colour photographs, this book will empower you or your group to be able to restore, manage, protect and conserve the magnificent rainforests that are in your care. The general principles and techniques described will meet the needs of students and teachers, novices, experienced practitioners, community groups and agencies alike.

Seasonal and diurnal variations in body temperatures of Hereford and Brahman cross cattle in a cool temperate environment

1970 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Moran
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Diurnal Variations ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
East African ◽  
Deep Body Temperature ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Seasonal And Diurnal Variations ◽  
Cool Temperate ◽  
Temperate Environment ◽  
Deep Body

Kendall (1948) suggested that the ability of cattle to thrive in tropical regions could be better indicated by the diurnal variation in body temperature rather than actual body temperature. However, Bligh & Lampkin (1965) found little difference in the nychthemeral variation in deep-body temperature of East African Zebus and Herefords grazing under conditions where the atmospheric shade temperature varied from 71 to 40 °F.

Thermoregulatory Aspects of Behavior in the Blue Spiny Lizard Scelopor Us Cyanogenys (Sauria, Iguanidae)

Behaviour ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 59 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Greenberg
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Normal Activity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Natural Behavior ◽  
Thermal Range ◽  
Large Repertoire ◽  
Thermal Relations

Abstract1. The thermal relations of blue spiny lizards, Sceloporus cyanogenys, were studied in laboratory habitats which were designed to allow the expression of a large repertoire of natural behavior patterns. Body temperatures obtained with fast-reading thermometers and by radio telemetry from implanted transmitters were correlated with postures and activities. 2. The morning emergence of lizards was found to be cued by light, often in the absence of immediate thermal reinforcement. 3. Two basking postures which altered a lizard's air and substrate thermal interfaces could be distinguished. The environmental and body temperature correlates of these postures were not appreciably different, and the change from one posture to another could not be interpreted as thermoregulatory. 4. When thermal conditions permitted, basking continued up to the attainment of the maximum voluntary body temperature (38.7 C), and was then followed by perching. 5. The body temperature correlates of perching had a range and mean much like the "normal activity range" of other species of Sceloporus (28.2-38.7 C, X= 35.2). 6. Defecation occurred mostly in the morning towards the end of the basking period, but had a broad thermal range (27.5 to 35.7 C). 7. The range of body temperatures during feeding was broad (25.3-38.5 C), but that of foraging was much narrower (34.3-38.7 C).

Comparison of different measuring methods for body temperature in lactating cows under different climatic conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Ammer ◽  
Christian Lambertz ◽  
Matthias Gauly
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Lactating Cows ◽  
Holstein Friesian ◽  
Friesian Cows

The aim of the research described here was to compare different methods of body temperature (BT) measurements in dairy cows. It was hypothesised that reticular temperature (RET) values reflect the physiological status of the animals in an equivalent way to rectal (RT) and vaginal (VT) measurements. RT, VT and RET temperatures of twelve lactating Holstein–Friesian cows were measured over five consecutive days in June and October 2013. While RT and VT were manually measured three times a day, RET was automatically recorded at 10 min intervals using a bolus in the reticulum. For comparison with RT and VT, different RET values were used: single values at the respective recording times (RET-SIN), and mean (RET-MEAN) and median (RET-MED) values of 2 h prior to RT and VT measurements. Overall, body temperatures averaged 38·1 ± 0·6, 38·2 ± 0·4, 38·7 ± 0·9, 38·5 ± 0·7 and 38·7 ± 0·5 °C for RT, VT, RET-SIN, RET-MEAN and RET-MED, respectively. RT and VT were lower than all RET measurements, while RET-SIN and RET-MED were higher than RET-MEAN (P < 0·001). RET-MEAN and RET-MED values were higher in the morning, whereas RT and VT were greatest in the evening (P < 0·001). Overall, records of RT and VT were strongly correlated (r = 0·75; P < 0·001). In contrast to RET-SIN and RET-MEAN, RET-MED was higher correlated to RT and VT. In June, coefficients were higher between all methods than in October. Relation of barn T to RT and VT was stronger when compared to RET measurements. RET-SIN was higher correlated to barn T than RET-MEAN or RET-MED. Correlation between VT and barn T was strongest (r = 0·48; P < 0·001). In summary, RET-MED showed highest correlation with VT and RT. However, single RET measurements (influenced by water or feed intake) can lead to extreme variations and differences to single VT and RT values.

scholarly journals Interspecific Interactions: A Case Study using the Tuatara-Fairy Prion Association

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ilse Corkery
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Burrow Use

<p>Some of the key relationships in the life of an organism are interactions with individuals of other species within the community, for example, negative interactions such as predation and competition are well known to shape natural communities. Positive interactions also have well documented influences, such as intertidal seaweed canopies extending the distribution of many organisms to higher tidal heights, by reducing thermal and desiccation stresses. However, investigating interactions and measuring their significance for fitness is notoriously difficult. For example, several groups of fish are known to ‘clean’ other fish species by feeding on their ectoparasites, a mutually beneficial arrangement. However, foraging by cleaners can damage scales of their hosts and this interaction can become parasitic in times of low ectoparasite abundance. Using both field and laboratory data, I investigated factors that influenced the dynamics of an unusual vertebrate association, the cohabitation of tuatara and fairy prions in a burrow. The end goal was to contribute to the understanding of the classification of this association. The fairy prion is a seabird that comes to land only for the breeding season and the tuatara is a burrowing reptile, active primarily at night in a temperate climate. Specifically, I measured the effects that this association had on tuatara thermoregulation, and demonstrated the difficulty in applying that information to categorize a complex interaction. Investigations into the temporal and spatial habitat of the tuatara, and the degree to which this influenced thermal opportunities, revealed that mean tuatara body temperatures were always within mean environmental temperatures. Males and females did not differ in mean body temperature or effectiveness of thermoregulation. Body size did not predict body temperature or cooling rates, but heating rates were influenced, with larger animals heating faster than smaller individuals. The presence of a fairy prion in a burrow increased humidity within the burrow, and tuatara that occupied burrows containing a fairy prion were able to maintain up to 1.8°C higher body temperatures through the night during the austral summer months. Thus, burrow use behaviour and burrow selection had greater influences on tuatara body temperature than an individual’s sex or size. Experimental evidence revealed that tuatara are capable of adjusting their habitat selection behaviour in response to different humidity constraints. More time was spent outside the burrows and tuatara were more active under humid laboratory conditions. Use of the burrow by tuatara almost halved the time that fairy prions spent at the burrow with their chick, indicating that tuatara were having a negative effect on fairy prions’ use of their burrow. There was no evidence to support the fact that fairy prions were gaining any fitness benefits from their association with tuatara. Thus, we cannot call this interaction a commensalism or a mutualism. In certain instances, it may be that this interaction is best classed as a parasitism with the tuatara benefitting from burrow use and easy predation opportunities, to the detriment of the lifetime reproductive success of the fairy prion. In other instances it may simply be a case of competition for a limited resource (a burrow) with the outcome varying depending on the individuals and the circumstances involved. Being able to categorize interactions between species of high conservation value or at least to have an understanding of the costs and benefits associated with the interaction is desirable for conservation purposes, as failure to consider the ecological network within which a threatened species is embedded, may lead to counterproductive management measures. Further, these results can be used to develop future research into how climatic changes in temperature and rainfall may interact with habitat availability to influence the full range of natural outcomes of the tuatara-fairy prion association.</p>

scholarly journals Effect of thermal acclimation on thermal preference, resistance and locomotor performance of hatchling soft-shelled turtle

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 718-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-Xian Wu ◽  
Ling-Jun Hu ◽  
Wei Dang ◽  
Hong-Liang Lu ◽  
Wei-Guo Du
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Thermal Acclimation ◽  
Acclimation Temperature ◽  
Locomotor Performance ◽  
Thermal Preference ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Pelodiscus Sinensis ◽  
Turtle Species ◽  
The Difference

Abstract The significant influence of thermal acclimation on physiological and behavioral performance has been documented in many ectothermic animals, but such studies are still limited in turtle species. We acclimated hatchling soft-shelled turtles Pelodiscus sinensis under three thermal conditions (10, 20 and 30°C) for 4 weeks, and then measured selected body temperature (Tsel), critical thermal minimum (CTMin) and maximum (CTMax), and locomotor performance at different body temperatures. Thermal acclimation significantly affected thermal preference and resistance of P. sinensis hatchlings. Hatchling turtles acclimated to 10°C selected relatively lower body temperatures and were less resistant to high temperatures than those acclimated to 20°C and 30°C. The turtles’ resistance to low temperatures increased with a decreasing acclimation temperature. The thermal resistance range (i.e. the difference between CTMax and CTMin, TRR) was widest in turtles acclimated to 20°C, and narrowest in those acclimated to 10°C. The locomotor performance of turtles was affected by both body temperature and acclimation temperature. Hatchling turtles acclimated to relatively higher temperatures swam faster than did those acclimated to lower temperatures. Accordingly, hatchling turtles acclimated to a particular temperature may not enhance the performance at that temperature. Instead, hatchlings acclimated to relatively warm temperatures have a better performance, supporting the “hotter is better” hypothesis.

scholarly journals Long-term suction measurements in Greece & Cyprus. A continuous update

2020 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 01023
Author(s):  
Michael Bardanis ◽  
Dimitrios Loukidis
Keyword(s):  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Large Magnitude ◽  
Geotechnical Investigations ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Warm Temperate

The occurrence of unsaturated soils in the field has been well documented worldwide by measurements of the degree of saturation on samples taken during geotechnical investigations. On the other hand, the suction of unsaturated soils in the field, especially as part of long-term measurements, is documented very rarely and references on the subject are very few and for very few places around the world. The scarceness of this kind of measurements denies researchers perception of the anticipated suction and its possible loss or retention as a result of climatic conditions, especially in countries with warm temperate climate. Suction measurements from temporary and permanent stations in Greece and Cyprus are presented in the paper. From these -admittedly few-measurements until today, the large magnitude of suction that may occur both during summer and winter is presented, along with the possibility of long periods of these suctions being maintained. Another consequence is the range of suction values that sensors should be able to measure in regions of similar climatic conditions in order to cover the range of expected values as obtained from the measurements available so far.

scholarly journals Late middle Miocene Konan flora from northern Hokkaido, Japan

2020 ◽  
pp. 259-295
Author(s):  
Atsufumi Narita ◽  
Atsushi Yabe ◽  
Kazuhiko Uemura ◽  
Midori Matsumoto
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Relict Species ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Late Middle Miocene ◽  
Cool Temperate

Plant macrofossils from the upper middle Miocene Konan Tuffaceous Sandstone and Mudstone Member of the Bifuka Formation, known as the Konan flora, northwest of Shibetsu City, Hokkaido, Japan, were taxonomically revised. A total of 31 taxa were recognized, which were assigned to 14 families and 19 genera, including a new fossil species, Salix palaeofutura sp. nov. The Konan flora includes three taxa of evergreen conifers, one perennial monocot herb and 27 deciduous dicots. The most abundant and common species were Fagus palaeojaponica, Acer subcarpinifolium, Acer protojaponicum, Picea sp. A and Cercidiphyllum crenatum, in addition to a number of species of the Betulaceae and Salicaceae. From the absence of evergreen angiosperms as well as the common occurrence of Fagus palaeojaponica, Picea, Acer and Betulaceae species, this flora was comparable to that seen in the modern Mixed Northern Hardwood Forest of East Asia, which is distributed in northernmost Honshu and extends toward lowland Hokkaido. On the basis of floral features, mode of occurrence, and the lithology of plant-bearing beds, the Konan flora was deemed to represent mountain to riverside vegetation with humid and cool temperate climatic conditions. In contrast to the early to late Miocene floras in Japan, the Konan flora belongs to the late Miocene–Pliocene Mitoku-type flora, with a few relict species from the early Miocene. The Konan flora represents one of the earliest occurrences of this type of flora, suggesting that floral modernization was initiated much earlier in areas with humid and cool temperate climate than previously thought.

Effect of climatic conditions on the annual activity and hibernation cycle of Richardson's ground squirrels and Columbian ground squirrels

1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail R. Michener
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Active Season ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Annual Activity ◽  
The Times ◽  
Columbian Ground Squirrels ◽  
Spring Emergence ◽  
Species Ecology

In 1975 and 1976 the times of spring emergence, breeding, and entry into hibernation were compared for Spermophilus richardsonii and S. columbianus in an area of sympatry in the foothills of the southern Alberta Rocky Mountains. Both species emerged earlier in 1976, which had a warmer than normal spring, than in 1975, which had a cooler than normal spring. In both years S. richardsonii emerged earlier than S. columbianus and remained active longer. Juvenile S. richardsonii entered hibernation when 17–20 weeks old whereas juvenile S. columbianus were 10–11 weeks old. Yearling S. richardsonii bred, whereas yearling S. columbianus did not. Breeding success affected the time of entry into hibernation but not the time of emergence from hibernation in the next spring. A possible relationship between the periodic arousals during hibernation and the emergence pattern of squirrels in spring is discussed. The significance of flexibility of spring emergence, length of the active season, and age at breeding to survival and species ecology is considered.

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