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 The Effects of Temperature on the Kinematics of Rattlesnake Predatory Strikes in Both Captive and Field Environments

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M D Whitford ◽  
G A Freymiller ◽  
T E Higham ◽  
R W Clark
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
New World ◽  
Environmental Temperature ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Locomotor Performance ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Predatory Strike ◽  
Effects Of Temperature ◽  
The Difference

Abstract The outcomes of predator–prey interactions between endotherms and ectotherms can be heavily influenced by environmental temperature, owing to the difference in how body temperature affects locomotor performance. However, as elastic energy storage mechanisms can allow ectotherms to maintain high levels of performance at cooler body temperatures, detailed analyses of kinematics are necessary to fully understand how changes in temperature might alter endotherm–ectotherm predator–prey interactions. Viperid snakes are widely distributed ectothermic mesopredators that interact with endotherms both as predator and prey. Although there are numerous studies on the kinematics of viper strikes, surprisingly few have analyzed how this rapid movement is affected by temperature. Here we studied the effects of temperature on the predatory strike performance of rattlesnakes (Crotalus spp.), abundant new world vipers, using both field and captive experimental contexts. We found that the effects of temperature on predatory strike performance are limited, with warmer snakes achieving slightly higher maximum strike acceleration, but similar maximum velocity. Our results suggest that, unlike defensive strikes to predators, rattlesnakes may not attempt to maximize strike speed when attacking prey, and thus the outcomes of predatory strikes may not be heavily influenced by changes in temperature.

Catecholamine elevation in iron deficiency

1979 ◽  
Vol 237 (5) ◽  
pp. R297-R300 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Dillmann ◽  
D. G. Johnson ◽  
J. Martin ◽  
B. Mackler ◽  
C. Finch
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Urinary Catecholamines ◽  
Threefold Increase ◽  
Iron Deficient ◽  
Catecholamine Response ◽  
The Difference ◽  
And Control ◽  
Maintain Body Temperature

Iron-deficient rats have increased blood and urinary catecholamines regardless of whether anemia is or is not present. The catecholamine response in both iron-deficient and control animals is largely temperature dependent, showing little difference at the isothermic temperature of 30 degrees C but a two- to threefold increase in iron-deficient animals over controls at lower temperatures. The iron-deficient rat is unable to maintain body temperature at 4 degrees C and this is independent of anemia or of food intake. When animals are run on the treadmill for 4 h, body temperatures increase but the difference observed at 4 degrees C between iron-deficient and control animals persists. The underlying abnormality in temperature regulation and in catecholamine response disappeared after 6 days of iron therapy.

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.

The significance of the coat in heat tolerance of cattle. II. Effect of solar radiation on body temperatures

1960 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 871 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Hair Coat ◽  
Transparent Plastic ◽  
Mean Body Temperature ◽  
Clear Plastic ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

An experiment was performed to test the effect of solar radiation on the body temperatures of cattle, both clipped and with hair coat, in a clear transparent plastic covering as compared with cattle in a white reflective plastic covering. The mean body temperature of the animals in white plastic coats was 0.15°F lower than that of animals in clear plastic coats. This difference was highly significant statistically (P< 0.001). Animals in both clear and white coats had higher body temperatures than controls without plastic coats. The difference was highly significant, and was about 1.5°F in the clipped animals.

scholarly journals Field-based body temperatures reveal behavioral thermoregulation strategies of the Atlantic marsh fiddler crab Minuca pugnax

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244458
Author(s):  
Sarah Hews ◽  
Zahkeyah Allen ◽  
Adrienne Baxter ◽  
Jacquline Rich ◽  
Zahida Sheikh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Fiddler Crab ◽  
Cooling Capacity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Behavioral Thermoregulation ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Intertidal Crab ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Difference

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.

Body temperature of free-living freshwater turtles, Hydromedusa maximiliani (Testudines, Chelidae)

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Martins ◽  
Franco Souza
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Freshwater Turtle ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Turtle Species ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Main Factor

AbstractField body temperatures of the Maximilian's snake-necked turtle, Hydromedusa maximiliani, a small freshwater turtle species endemic to Atlantic rainforest mountainous regions in Brazil, were studied. Turtle body temperatures and water temperatures were significantly related, but turtle body temperature averaged 1°C higher than stream water temperature, this difference being statistically significant. A multivariate model revealed that only water temperature was significantly related to turtle body temperature while body size had no effect. There was no effect of sex and life stage on turtle body temperature, implying that water temperature was the main factor determining body temperatures. Thermoconformity was verified for all sampled individuals. The broad implications of these results are also discussed.

scholarly journals Cool running: locomotor performance at low body temperature in mammals

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 868-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Daniella Rojas ◽  
Gerhard Körtner ◽  
Fritz Geiser
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Temperature Effects ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Locomotor Performance ◽  
Sigmoid Function ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Directional Movement ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Marsupial Species

Mammalian torpor saves enormous amounts of energy, but a widely assumed cost of torpor is immobility and therefore vulnerability to predators. Contrary to this assumption, some small marsupial mammals in the wild move while torpid at low body temperatures to basking sites, thereby minimizing energy expenditure during arousal. Hence, we quantified how mammalian locomotor performance is affected by body temperature. The three small marsupial species tested, known to use torpor and basking in the wild, could move while torpid at body temperatures as low as 14.8–17.9°C. Speed was a sigmoid function of body temperature, but body temperature effects on running speed were greater than those in an ectothermic lizard used for comparison. We provide the first quantitative data of movement at low body temperature in mammals, which have survival implications for wild heterothermic mammals, as directional movement at low body temperature permits both basking and predator avoidance.

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).

scholarly journals Field body temperature and thermal preference of the big-headed turtle Platysternon megacephalum

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 626-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianwei Shen ◽  
Fanwei Meng ◽  
Yongpu Zhang ◽  
Weiguo Du
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
The Body ◽  
Freshwater Turtle ◽  
Diel Variation ◽  
Thermal Preference ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Low Field ◽  
Preferred Body Temperature

Abstract The big-headed turtle Platysternon megacephalum is a stream-dwelling species whose ecology is poorly known. We carried out field and laboratory investigations to determine field body temperatures and thermal preference of this species. In the field, the body temperatures of the turtles conformed to the water temperature, with little diel variation in either summer or autumn. Over the diel cycle, the mean body temperatures ranged from 20.8°C to 22.2°C in summer and from 19.3°C to 21.2°C in autumn; the highest body temperatures ranged from 22.1°C to 25.0°C in summer and from 20.6°C to 23.8°C in autumn. In the laboratory, the preferred body temperature (Tp) was 25.3°C. Food intake was maximized at 24.0°C, whereas locomotor performance peaked at 30.0°C. Consequently, Tp was closer to the thermal optimum for food intake than for locomotion. Therefore, this freshwater turtle has relative low field body temperatures corresponding to its thermal environment. In addition, the turtle prefers low temperatures and has a low optimal temperature for food intake.

Effects of temperature and food availability on selected body temperature and locomotor performance of Plestiodon (Eumeces) chinensis (Scincidae)

2010 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bao-Jun Sun ◽  
Wei-Guo Du ◽  
Lin Shu
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Thermal Treatment ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Acclimation ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Locomotor Performance ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Variations ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Selected Body Temperature

AbstractRemarkable temporal and spatial variations occur on selected body temperature (Tsel) and locomotor performance for Plestiodon (Eumeces) chinensis, commonly known as Chinese skinks. However, the significance of these variations remains elusive. This study focuses on the effects of thermal environment and food availability on P. chinensis's Tsel and locomotor performance. The duration of thermal treatment (4h and 8h) displayed significant effects on Tsel, additionally the effects of thermal treatment were also dependent on food-availability. There was no significant variation in skink's Tsel under diverse thermal treatments when sufficient food was available. However, with insufficient food source, the Tsel decreased with decrease in the duration of thermal treatment. Thermal acclimation also affected locomotor performance of P. chinensis, as the 8h thermal treatment enhanced their locomotor performance. However, food availability alone had no significant impact on the locomotor performance. Therefore, the combination of thermal acclimation and food availability could cause variations in Tsel and locomotor performance of skinks, suggesting that thermal environment and food condition in nature are important factors involved in temporal and spatial variations for Tsel and locomotor performance.

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