Broad seasonal changes in thermoregulation of Podarcis lilfordi (Squamata, Lacertidae) at Binicodrell islet (Menorca, Spain)

Most lizards maintain quite constant body temperatures by behavioural means. Seasonal variations of environmental factors, such as temperature, sunlight exposure and wind intensity, influence lizard thermoregulatory abilities. Understanding how seasonal environmental shifts influence lizards’ thermoregulation helps us to know how they deal behaviourally with environmental changes, in general. We examined seasonal shifts (spring vs. summer) in behavioural thermoregulation in Podarcislilfordi from Binicodrell islet (Menorca, Spain). Operative temperatures varied between microhabitats and seasons, being lower in spring than in summer, regardless of sunlight exposure. Lizard body temperatures were also lower in spring than in summer. Lizards used sunny microhabitats more frequently in spring and shaded areas in summer. Habitat thermal quality was similar during both seasons, but lizards thermoregulated less accurately in spring than in summer. Thermoregulatory effectiveness was low in spring (0.28) and moderate in summer (0.76). In comparison with previously published results, our findings showed the marked seasonal variation in the effectiveness of thermoregulation amongst island populations, which should be considered in future comparative studies.

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INCONCLUSIONS OF STUDIES, MOSTLY OF PREMATURE INFANTS

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.8.2.163 ◽

1951 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 163-176

Author(s):

HARRY H. GORDON

Keyword(s):

Premature Infants ◽

Dietary Factors ◽

Body Temperatures ◽

Acid Base Balance ◽

Acid Base ◽

Term Infants ◽

Know How ◽

Rate Of Oxygen Consumption ◽

Base Balance ◽

Phenol Ring

We do not know whether or how the rate of oxygen consumption by the cells of premature infants differs from that of full term infants. We do not know the clinical significance of subnormal body temperatures in premature infants. We do not know how much immature renal function and how much handicaps in intracellular defenses contribute to [See CHART 4, CHART 5 in Source PDF] the tendency of premature infants to develop disorders of water and acid-base balance. We do not know the nature of the deviation in ability of premature infants to absorb fat. We do not know how ascorbic acid and other dietary factors promote breaking open of the phenol ring of tyrosine or phenylalanine. We do not know what constitutes "immunity" to malaria. This is a doleful summary; it is a consolation to note the epigram of Rabbi Tarfon, written almost 1,900 years ago: "It is not for thee to complete the work, but neither art thou free to desist from it."

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Temperature regulation in the tortoise Testudo hermanni, studied with indwelling probes

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/156853896x00135 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 91-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

C. Huot-Daubremont ◽

D. Bradshaw ◽

C. Grenot

Keyword(s):

Temperature Regulation ◽

Temperature Sensitive ◽

Behavioural Thermoregulation ◽

Body Temperatures ◽

South Eastern ◽

Testudo Hermanni ◽

Free Ranging

AbstractBehavioural thermoregulation has been studied in the terrestrial tortoise Testudo hermanni in south-eastern France by implanting temperature-sensitive probes in free-ranging individuals. Three tortoises were monitored over a period of nine months (July to March); they maintained body temperatures close to their preferendum for periods of several hours each day. These results are of interest as doubt has been expressed in the literature on the thermoregulatory capacities of Testudo hermanni in the northernmost part of its range.

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Effect of seasonal environmental changes on selected reproductive parameters in mares

BULGARIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE ◽

10.15547/bjvm.2019-0083 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 208-218

Author(s):

Z. Vilhanová ◽

F. Novotný ◽

I. Valocký ◽

V. Hura ◽

P. Horňáková ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Veterinary Medicine ◽

Seasonal Changes ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Jugular Vein ◽

Day Length ◽

Reproductive Parameters ◽

Spearman Correlation ◽

Microsoft Excel ◽

Average Temperature ◽

Preovulatory Follicles

The aim of this study was to monitor and evaluate the seasonal changes on selected reproductive parameters in mares. Ninety-six mares of different breeds, aged 3 to 23 years were evaluated during the breeding season 2015–2018 at the Equine clinic at University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacology in Košice, Slovakia (48°42´N, 21°15´E). The beginning of the estrus was determined by history or observation, mares were examined every 6 hours, blood for progesterone analysis was taken from the jugular vein. Correlation analyses were performed using both the Pearson and the Spearman correlation coefficient. Statistical analysis was performed using the functions of Microsoft Excel and GraphPad Prism. The day length (r = -0.708, P<0.0001) and the average ambient temperature (r = -0.754, P<0.0001) had a statistically significant effect on the duration of estrus. The shortest estrus was recorded in July with day length of 15 hours 40 minutes at an average temperature of 21.4 ± 0.52 °C, with duration 4.67 ± 0.58 days. The longest estrus was recorded in April with day length of 11 hours 48 minutes at average temperature of 6.9 °C. The environmental factors did not affect the size of the preovulatory follicles, the concentration of progesterone, the internal changes of uterus and the external manifestations of estrus.

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Behavioural Thermoregulation in the Freeze-Tolerant Arctic Caterpillar, Gynaephora Groenlandica

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.138.1.181 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 138 (1) ◽

pp. 181-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

OLGA KUKAL ◽

BERND HEINRICH ◽

JOHN G. DUMAN

Keyword(s):

Solar Radiation ◽

Growth And Development ◽

High Arctic ◽

The Sun ◽

Metabolic Rates ◽

Behavioural Thermoregulation ◽

Body Temperatures ◽

Feeding Site ◽

Freeze Tolerant ◽

Gynaephora Groenlandica

Larvae of the high arctic caterpillar, Gynaephora groenlandica (Wöcke) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) spent most (60 %) of their time orienting towards the sun (i.e. basking) and only 20% feeding, primarily near midday. Larvae usually basked after feeding, then either fed again or moved to a new feeding site. Basking larvae reached their highest body temperatures (Tb) of ≊30°C (≊20°C in excess of the ambient temperature) when surrounded by snow on a calm day in the midday sun. Setae significantly decreased larval cooling rates. Maximal metabolic rates were attained in basking larvae, but at body temperatures below 10°C oxygen uptake was greatly reduced. Our studies indicate that G. groenlandica larvae are behaviourally adapted to utilize available solar radiation for growth and development.

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How the cerebral serotonin homeostasis predicts environmental changes: a model to explain seasonal changes of brain 5-HTT as intermediate phenotype of the 5-HTTLPR

Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1007/s00213-013-3308-1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 230 (3) ◽

pp. 333-343 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jan Kalbitzer ◽

Urs Kalbitzer ◽

Gitte Moos Knudsen ◽

Paul Cumming ◽

Andreas Heinz

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Changes ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Intermediate Phenotype

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Thermal ecology of the Atlas day gecko Quedenfeldtia moerens in an arid area of Morocco, and a comparison with its congener Q. trachyblepharus

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/15685381-bja10034 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 81-91

Author(s):

Jalal Mouadi ◽

El Hassan El Mouden ◽

Abdellah Bouazza ◽

Mohamed Aourir

Keyword(s):

Adult Males ◽

Body Temperatures ◽

Active Season ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

Data Loggers ◽

Atlas Mountains ◽

The Mean ◽

Using Data ◽

Substrate Temperatures ◽

Operative Temperatures

Abstract The Atlas day gecko, Quedenfeldtia moerens, a Moroccan endemic lizard, is strictly diurnal and widely distributed across the dry Atlas Mountains. We quantified thermoregulation in adult males and adult females during their active season in the L’kest Mountain at 1300 m a.s.l., Anti-Atlas region of Morocco. The operative temperatures and air temperatures were sampled using data-loggers in the field from 2016 to 2018. Body temperatures of active lizards and substrate temperatures in the field were simultaneously measured. Finally, we measured preferred body temperatures (Tset) in a laboratory thermal gradient for 24 adult geckos. Mean Tset was 33.3 ± 0.3°C, with the mean 25% and 75% quartiles being 32.3 ± 0.3°C and 34.6 ± 0.3°C, respectively. Active lizards rarely reached their Tset range from March to June, but spent most of the day within Tset in July and August. Our study suggests that Q. moerens have higher Tset than its congeneric Q. trachyblepharus living at high altitude. Likewise, thermoregulatory effectiveness of Q. moerens showed an increase from spring to summer while it was the opposite for Q. trachyblepharus.

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Behavioral adaptations in Ameivula ocellifera (Squamata: Teiidae) in response to thermal environmental changes

Phyllomedusa Journal of Herpetology ◽

10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v18i2p225-240 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 225-240

Author(s):

Raul Fernandes Dantas Sales ◽

Eliza Maria Xavier Freire

Keyword(s):

Body Temperature ◽

Rainy Season ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Body Temperatures ◽

Thermal Environments ◽

Behavioral Adaptations ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

External Sources ◽

Regulate Body Temperature

Behavioral adaptations in Ameivula ocellifera (Squamata: Teiidae) in response to thermal environmental changes. Lizards rely on external sources to regulate body temperature, but in many species, it is not known whether lizards are able to change their thermoregulatory behaviors in response to variations in thermal environments. The seasonal thermal ecology of three populations of the Brazilian whiptail lizard, Ameivula ocellifera, in northeastern Brazil (two Caatinga sites and one in the Atlantic Forest) was investigated. The relationships between body temperature and microhabitat temperatures (substrate and air), and between body temperature and thermoregulatory behavior (i.e., time of exposure to sunlight classes and time spent basking) were explored. The average body temperatures of the lizards were 38–39°C; these neither varied seasonally nor among populations. Substrate and air temperatures are lower at the natural Caatinga site, and lizards in there spent less time in the shade and more time exposed to the sun. Microhabitat temperatures vary seasonally in natural Caatinga; they are lower in the rainy season, when lizards spent more time exposed to sun and less time in fltered sun. Lizard body temperatures exceeded microhabitat temperatures in the rainy season in all three populations; however, they did not exceed substrate temperature in the dry season. In each of the populations, lizards with low body temperatures during cloudy conditions spent more time basking. Thus, A. ocellifera adjusts its body temperature behaviorally to compensate for seasonal changes in environmental temperatures, as well as geographic thermal variation throughout its range.

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Notes on the thermal ecology of Testudo hermanni hermanni in Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/15685381-00003084 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 108-112

Author(s):

Zaida Ortega ◽

Abraham Mencía ◽

Valentín Pérez-Mellado

Keyword(s):

Substrate Temperature ◽

Sunlight Exposure ◽

Balearic Islands ◽

Late Spring ◽

Thermal Ecology ◽

Body Temperatures ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

Testudo Hermanni ◽

Substrate Temperatures ◽

Testudo Hermanni Hermanni

We studied the thermal ecology of Testudo hermanni hermanni in Menorca during late spring. We measured body temperatures of adult individuals, together with air and substrate temperatures at points of capture. Sunlight exposure (full sun, filtered sun, or shade) and type of substrate were also recorded. Body temperatures were similar between sexes (mean = 29.95°C) as were air temperatures between gender capture sites (mean = 28.33°C). Conversely, females were found in areas with a higher substrate temperature (31.60°C) than males were (29.15°C). Moreover, the correlation between body and air temperatures was stronger than it was between body and substrate temperatures, as found in other populations of this species. The tortoises were usually found in full sun, and the proportion of animals found in each sunlight category was similar between sexes. Our results contribute to the knowledge of the thermal ecology of the western Hermann’s tortoise.

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Null models and the thermal biology of the anguid lizard Anguis fragilis; evidence for thermoregulation?

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/156853805774806322 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 445-450

Author(s):

Roger Meek

Keyword(s):

Body Temperature ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Null Models ◽

Body Temperatures ◽

Thermal Biology ◽

Sunny Weather ◽

Standard Deviations ◽

Anguis Fragilis ◽

Selection Of ◽

Operative Temperatures

AbstractObservations were made on the behaviour and body temperatures of the legless lizard Anguis fragilis when active above ground in outdoor enclosures. The lizards were most frequently observed in partially shaded locations followed by fully shaded areas; full basking and locomotory movement were minor activities irrespective of weather conditions. Weather conditions had no significant influence on behaviour. Tests for thermoregulation using null models indicated that the main reason for movement above ground was thermoregulatory. Body temperatures were significantly higher than shade operative temperatures but lower than operative temperatures in open locations whatever the weather. Standard deviations in body temperature, employed as a measure of thermoregulatory precision, were lower than standard deviations of operative temperatures in sunny weather but not significantly different from operative temperatures during overcast weather or shaded operative temperatures during sunny weather. The limited amount of locomotory movement suggests thermoregulation was achieved through selection of appropriate microenvironments.

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