Thermal ecology of the high-altitude bunch grass lizard, Sceloporus scalaris

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 2152-2155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey R. Smith ◽  
Royce E. Ballinger ◽  
Justin D. Congdon

The thermal ecology of a high-altitude lizard, Sceloporus scalaris, was investigated in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona, where the lizards are active on sunny days throughout the year. Mean body temperature was 32.6 °C (range 12.6–39 °C) and mean air temperature was 20.2 °C (range 5.2–36.4 °C). The slope of the body temperature versus air temperature regression was 0.23. Monthly differences in body temperature were observed, with the highest body temperatures observed in early summer. Lizards at three study sites with differing slope and vegetative cover had different mean body temperatures. Males had higher body temperatures than both nongravid and gravid females. Maintenance of elevated body temperatures even during winter lengthens the activity and growing season, permitting early maturity with potentially important life-history consequences.

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luh P. E. K. Yuni ◽  
Susan M. Jones ◽  
Erik Wapstra

Body temperatures in ectotherms are strongly affected by their thermal environment. Ectotherms respond to variation in the thermal environment either by modification of behavioural thermoregulation to maintain their optimal body temperature or by shifting their optimal body temperature. In this study, the body temperatures of males of three populations of spotted snow skinks, Niveoscincus ocellatus, living along an altitudinal gradient (low, mid, and high altitude) were studied in the field and laboratory in spring, summer, and autumn, representing the full activity period of this species. The environmental variation across both sites and seasons affected their field active body temperatures. At the low and mid altitude, N. ocellatus had a higher mean body temperature than at the high altitude. Animals achieved their thermal preference at the low and mid altitude sites in all seasons. At the high altitude, however, N. ocellatus struggled to reach its preferred body temperatures, especially in autumn. The lower body temperature at the high-altitude site is likely due to limited thermal opportunity and/or an effect of avoiding the costs associated with increased intensity of basking.


1984 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Stubbs ◽  
Adrian Hailey ◽  
Elizabeth Pulford

AbstractThe mean body temperature of T. hermanni in woodland in France was 28.5 °C (August 1981). Body temperatures were elevated above air temperature and indirect evidence for basking and selection of an optimal microenvironment is discussed.


1960 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 871 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Dowling

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.


1968 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. D. Webster ◽  
K. G. Johnson

SummarySkin temperatures, deep body temperatures and respiratory rates have been measured in Southdown and Merino sheep following feeding, and during infra-red irradiation, rumen infusions of hot and cold water, and cold exposure induced by shearing. The increases in respiratory rate and skin temperatures induced by infra-red heating and the heat increment of feeding were reversed by addition of iced water to the rumen and were suppressed by shearing. These responses could not be systematically related to particular body temperatures in the sheep and appeared to be continuously variable rather than ‘all-or-none’ phenomena. Considerable overlap was observed between respiratory and vasomotor mechanisms of thermoregulation. Measurements of the surface area and weight of ears and legs showed that these regions contribute approximately 23% of the surface area and 8% of the body weight in Merino sheep. Calculations suggested that up to 70% of the additional heat produced in the 2 h after feeding in sheep may be stored in the tissues through increase in mean body temperature. Sheep kept in short wool throughout the winter appeared to establish a new thermoregulatory ‘set-point’ associated with lower rectal temperatures than those in sheep with a full fleece.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-360
Author(s):  
Natalia Fierro-Estrada ◽  
Yasmin Guadalupe González González ◽  
Donald B. Miles ◽  
Margarita Martínez Gómez ◽  
Andrés García ◽  
...  

Abstract Ambient temperature is a primary factor affecting the physiology and activity of reptiles. Thermoregulation involves a series of mechanisms to maintain an organism’s body temperature within a narrow range. The study of thermal ecology of lizards is relevant for understanding their distribution, life history, ecology and thermal requirements. Moreover, determining how species are able to attain physiologically active body temperatures in challenging environments is necessary for assessing the risk of extinction due to climate change, especially for threatened endemic species. We evaluated and compared the thermal ecology of two populations of the viviparous lizard Barisia imbricata, at contrasting elevations (2200 and 3700 m). We obtained variation in thermal data from winter through autumn for multiple years. We determined thermal efficiency indices based on field active body temperatures, preferred temperatures (in a thermal gradient), and operative environmental temperatures (according to null models). We also recorded substrate and air temperatures at the time of capture. Mean body temperature of both populations showed a positive correlation with environmental temperatures. We found significant seasonal differences in body temperature in both populations, and between body temperatures of the two populations. Our results suggest that B. imbricata is an eurythermic species and can thermoregulate actively at any given time. However, when environmental temperatures are within the range of preferred temperatures, the species does not engage in thermoregulatory behavior. This information expands knowledge on the range of possible thermal responses to environmental variation within a species.


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


2003 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Tikuisis

Certain previous studies suggest, as hypothesized herein, that heat balance (i.e., when heat loss is matched by heat production) is attained before stabilization of body temperatures during cold exposure. This phenomenon is explained through a theoretical analysis of heat distribution in the body applied to an experiment involving cold water immersion. Six healthy and fit men (mean ± SD of age = 37.5 ± 6.5 yr, height = 1.79 ± 0.07 m, mass = 81.8 ± 9.5 kg, body fat = 17.3 ± 4.2%, maximal O2 uptake = 46.9 ± 5.5 l/min) were immersed in water ranging from 16.4 to 24.1°C for up to 10 h. Core temperature (Tco) underwent an insignificant transient rise during the first hour of immersion, then declined steadily for several hours, although no subject's Tco reached 35°C. Despite the continued decrease in Tco, shivering had reached a steady state of ∼2 × resting metabolism. Heat debt peaked at 932 ± 334 kJ after 2 h of immersion, indicating the attainment of heat balance, but unexpectedly proceeded to decline at ∼48 kJ/h, indicating a recovery of mean body temperature. These observations were rationalized by introducing a third compartment of the body, comprising fat, connective tissue, muscle, and bone, between the core (viscera and vessels) and skin. Temperature change in this “mid region” can account for the incongruity between the body's heat debt and the changes in only the core and skin temperatures. The mid region temperature decreased by 3.7 ± 1.1°C at maximal heat debt and increased slowly thereafter. The reversal in heat debt might help explain why shivering drive failed to respond to a continued decrease in Tco, as shivering drive might be modulated by changes in body heat content.


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.


1962 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. N. Craig ◽  
E. G. Cummings

For two men walking on a treadmill and wearing two layers of permeable clothing, the same physiological strain measured by the rate of increase in mean body temperature could be produced a) next to a building outdoors in the sunshine with an average air temperature of 85 F and humidity of 20 mm Hg and b) indoors with the same humidity and an air temperature 10 F higher. Under these conditions, the underwear was mainly wet with sweat and the outer layer was mainly dry. In comparable indoor tests on a third subject, the temperature of the underwear approached equilibrium 1 or 2 F lower than the temperature of the skin at air temperatures of 85 and 115 F. The error in calculating clothing insulation introduced by assuming the clothing to be dry is determined by the size and direction of the temperature gradient between skin and air. Adding 10 F to the indoor air temperature does not duplicate all the effects of sunshine. Submitted on September 15, 1961


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