scholarly journals Thermal biology of Amphisbaena munoai (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalia Rocha Matias ◽  
Laura Verrastro
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
The Body ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Thermal Biology ◽  
The Relationship

Studies on the thermal biology of fossorial reptiles that examine the relationship between the body temperature and thermal environment are needed to determine the extent of their thermoregulation abilities. This study assessed the thermal biology of Amphisbaena munoai Klappenbach, 1969 in the rocky fields of the Rio Grande do Sul and in the laboratory. The body temperature of most individuals was between 24 and 30 °C, both in the field (n = 81) and laboratory (n = 19). More individuals were caught in winter (n = 55) and spring (n = 60) than in summer (n = 25) and fall (n = 45), and in spring, individuals showed similar nocturnal and diurnal activities. In the laboratory, we found individuals with body temperatures up to 5 °C higher than the ambient temperature (n = 4), suggesting that some physiological mechanisms participate in the thermoregulation of these animals. Amphisbaena munoai is a thigmothermic species that is capable of actively regulating its temperature by selecting microhabitats such that its various activities occur within an ideal temperature range. This study is the first to evaluate the effect of seasonality and diurnal and nocturnal variations on the thermoregulation of an amphisbaenid.

Thermal biology of the spotted snow skink, Niveoscincus ocellatus, along an altitudinal gradient

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luh P. E. K. Yuni ◽  
Susan M. Jones ◽  
Erik Wapstra
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
The Body ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Mean Body Temperature ◽  
Thermal Biology

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.

scholarly journals Thermal biology, activity, and population parameters of Cnemidophorus vacariensis (Squamata, Teiidae), a lizard endemic to southern Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Caruccio ◽  
Renata Cardoso Vieira ◽  
Laura Verrastro ◽  
Denise Mello Machado
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Seasonal Activity ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Thermal Biology ◽  
Environment Temperature ◽  
Average Body

We investigated the following aspects of the biology of a population of Cnemidophorus vacariensis Feltrim & Lema, 2000 during the four seasons: thermal biology, relationship with the thermal environment, daily and seasonal activity, population structure and growth rate. Cnemidophorus vacariensis is restricted to rocky outcrops of the "campos de cima da serra" grasslands on the Araucaria Plateau, southern Brazil, and is currently listed as regionally and nationally threatened with extinction. Data were collected from October 2004 through September 2007 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Sampling was conducted randomly from 08:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The capture-mark-recapture method was employed. The lizards were captured by hand, and their cloacal temperature, sex, snout-ventral length (SVL), mass, and the temperature of their microhabitat (substrate temperature and air temperature) were recorded. Individuals were then marked by toe-clipping and released at the site of capture. Body temperatures were obtained for 175 individuals, activity data for 96 individuals, and data on population structure and growth for 59 individuals. All data were obtained monthly, at different times of the day. Cnemidophorus vacariensis average body temperature was 23.84ºC, ranging between 9.6 and 38.2ºC. Temperatures ranged between 21 and 29ºC. The correlation between external heat sources, substrate and air were positive and significant and there was a greater correlation between lizard's temperature and the temperature of the substrate (tigmothermic species). The relatively low body temperatures of individuals are associated with the climate of their environment (altitude up to 1,400 m), with large variations in temperature throughout the day and the year, and low temperatures in winter. The average body temperature observed for C. vacariensis was low when compared with that of phylogenetically related species, suggesting that the thermal biology of this species reflects adaptations to the temperate region where it lives. The monthly rates of activity of lizards were related to monthly variations in the ambient temperatures. Our data suggest that the daily and seasonal activity of C. vacariensis result from the interaction between two factors: changes in the environment temperature and the relationship between individuals and their thermal environment. The population structure of C. vacariensis varied throughout the study period, with maximum biomass in January and maximum density in February (recruitment period). The sex ratio diverged from the expected 1:1. The growth analysis showed a negative relationship between the growth rate of individuals and the SVL, revealing that young individuals grow faster than adults, a typical pattern for short-lived species. The population studied showed a seasonal and cyclical variation associated with the reproductive cycle. The life strategy of C. vacariensis seems to include adaptations to the seasonal variations in temperature, typical of its environment.

scholarly journals Heart rate reveals torpor at high body temperatures in lowland tropical free-tailed bats

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 171359 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Teague O'Mara ◽  
Sebastian Rikker ◽  
Martin Wikelski ◽  
Andries Ter Maat ◽  
Henry S. Pollock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
The Body ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Save Energy ◽  
Molossus Molossus

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.

scholarly journals Data on the body temperature of some ophidians in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 153-159
Author(s):  
Emma Quirosa
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Environmental Temperature ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
The Body ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Thermal Biology ◽  
Temperature Records ◽  
Natrix Maura

La biología térmica es uno de los aspectos más necesarios para entender la distribución y los patrones de actividad de las especies, sobretodo de los organismos ectotermos. El presente estudio aporta información sobre temperatura corporal de seis ofidios ibéricos y temperatura ambiental para el lugar donde habitan. Para tres de las especies, Coronella girondica (Daudin 1803), Macroprotodon brevis (Günter 1862) y Hemorrhois hip­pocrepis (Linnaeus 1758), estos son los primeros datos publicados en España. En el caso de Natrix maura (Linnaeus 1758) los datos de este estudio incluyen temperatura tanto en medio acuático como en medio terrestre. En total se han obtenido 31 registros de temperatura corporal y 30 registros de temperatura ambiente. También se aportan datos sobre temperatura corporal y ambiental de Malpolon monspessulanus (Hermann 1804) y Zamenis scalaris (Schinz 1822). Thermal biology is one of the most necessary aspects in understanding the distribution and activity patterns of species, above all of ectothermal organisms. The present study provides data on body temperature of six Iberian ophidians and the environmental temperature of the place they inhabit. For three species, southern smooth snake Coronella girondica (Daudin 1803), western false smooth snake Macroprotodon brevis (Günter 1862), and horse-shoe snake Hemorrhois hippocrepis (Linnaeus 1758), these are the first data published in Spain. In the case of Natrix maura (Linnaeus 1758), the present data include its temperature on land as well as in aquatic environments. In total, 31 body temperature records and 30 ambient temperature records were obtained. Additionally, data is given on body and environmental temperature for the ophidian species Malpolon monspessulanus (Hermann 1804) and Zamenis scalaris (Schinz 1822).

scholarly journals ENDOTHERMY AND TEMPERATURE REGULATION IN BEES: A CRITIQUE OF ‘GRAB AND STAB’ MEASUREMENT OF BODY TEMPERATURE

1989 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. N. STONE ◽  
P. G. WILLMER
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Passive Cooling ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Warm Up ◽  
Tethered Flight ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Best Fit

‘Grab and stab’ methods have become standard in the measurement of insect body temperatures. The gradient of the best-fit regression of body temperature on ambient temperature is often used as a measure of the thermoregulatory ability of a species. The temperatures recorded are commonly accepted as slight underestimates of actual values prior to capture due to passive cooling between capture and insertion of the thermocouple. Here we present laboratory experiments involving tethered flight which show that bees often warm up on cessation of flight, and that errors due to warm-up over the time interval typically associated with ‘grab and stab’ sampling may be significant. More importantly, the errors due to warm-up in two species are shown to change with ambient temperature, thus affecting the form of the relationship between ambient and body temperatures. We compare laboratory and field data to illustrate the way in which warm-up errors may exaggerate apparent thermoregulatory ability, and we urge greater caution in the interpretation of ‘grab and stab’ data.

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.

scholarly journals Substrate Use and its Effect on Body Temperature in two Syntopic Liolaemus Lizards in Northwestern Argentina

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Inés Robles ◽  
Gilda Luciana Vivas ◽  
Monique Halloy
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
The Body ◽  
Thermal Biology ◽  
Substrate Use ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Behavioral Preferences ◽  
Substrate Surfaces ◽  
The Relationship

Habitat use and thermal biology are closely related, because thermal microclimates vary spatially. The use of habitat and microhabitat by different species influences many of their traits, such as their physiology, and may, therefore exert a direct effect on survival. Ectothermal animals, such as lizards, are affected by thermal and biophysical environments they inhabit, and the particular use of a given substrate reflects an overlap between thermally adequate microhabitats, and behavioral preferences. By exploiting certain microhabitats and avoiding others, many lizards tend to maintain their body temperature within a range that allows maximum performance. Here, we evaluate how two syntopic species of lizards, Liolaemus pacha and L. ramirezae, use substrates with different exposure to solar radiation. Our hypothesis is that L. pacha uses both soil and rock substrates indistinctly, due to being a generalist species, whereas L. ramirezae uses the rock substrate more frequently, due to its saxicolous habits. We expect temperatures to be different both in substrates, and in different exposures, and thermal characteristics of each species to condition their use. For example, because the body temperature range of L. pacha is wider, we predict that substrate use will be wider. A pre-established 100x75 m area was monitored during four Austral springs and summers between 2011 and 2015, in Los Cardones, Amaicha del Valle, Tucumán, Argentina. Species' substrate where the lizard was found (soil or rock), and exposure to solar radiation: sun, filtered shade or full shade was recorded. After capture, lizard body temperature (Tb), substrate temperature (Ts), and air temperature (Ta) were recorded in the place of the first observation of the lizard. Obtained results show that L. pacha and L. ramirezae had a more persistent use of the rock than the soil substrate, thus considering them saxicolous species. Further, they were frequently observed exposed to direct sunlight. Average body temperature was higher than environmental temperature (Ts and Ta), and significantly different in each exposure type (sun, filtered shade and full shade), and in both substrates (rock and soil). Differential use of substrate and the relationship between body temperature and microhabitat temperatures suggests that L. pacha and L. ramirezae are “active thermoregulators”, using both substrate surfaces and solar radiation as heat sources. 

scholarly journals Thermal biology of Liolaemus occipitalis (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in the coastal sand dunes of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 945-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Bujes ◽  
L. Verrastro
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Coastal Sand Dunes ◽  
Mean Body Temperature ◽  
Thermal Biology ◽  
Sand Lizard ◽  
Seasonal Basis ◽  
Coastal Sand

The thermal biology of the small sand lizard, Liolaemus occipitalis, was studied in the coastal sand dunes at Quintão Beach (Palmares do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; 30° 24' S and 50° 17' W), between September, 1998 and August, 1999. Liolaemus occipitalis presented a mean body temperature of 30.89 °C (SD = 4.43 °C; min = 16.4 °C; max = 40.2 °C; N = 270), that varied on a daily and seasonal basis according to microhabitat thermal alterations. The substrate temperature was the main heat source for thermoregulation of L. occipitalis as in all seasons of the year it was responsible for the animals' temperature variation (82% of the collected lizards in the spring; 60% in the summer; 84% in the fall and 68% in the winter). The results indicate that L. occipitalis is a saxicolous, thigmothermic and heliothermic species that regulates its body temperature through behavioral mechanisms.

Rendimento de grãos de soja e de milho, no Rio Grande do Sul, não difere entre eventos El Niño Oscilação Sul

Agrometeoros ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronaldo Matzenauer ◽  
Bernadete Radin ◽  
Alberto Cargnelutti Filho
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Income Data ◽  
The Relationship

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a relação entre o fenômeno El Niño Oscilação Sul - ENOS e o rendimento de grãos de soja e de milho no Rio Grande do Sul e verificar a hipótese de que os eventos El Niño são favoráveis e os eventos La Niña são prejudiciais ao rendimento de grãos das culturas. Foram utilizados dados de rendimento de grãos dos anos agrícolas de 1974/75 a 2016/17, e relacionados com as ocorrências de eventos ENOS. Foram analisados os dados de rendimento observados na colheita e os dados estimados com a remoção da tendência tecnológica. Os resultados mostraram que não houve diferença significativa do rendimento médio de grãos de soja e de milho na comparação entre os eventos ENOS. Palavras-chave: El Niño, La Niña, safras agrícolas. Abstract – The objective of this work was to evaluate the relationship between the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon with the grain yield of soybean and maize in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil and to verify the hypothesis that the El Niño events are favorable and the La Niña events are harmful to the culture’s grain yields. Were used data from the agricultural years of 1974/75 to 2016/17, and related to the occurrence of ENOS events. We analyzed income data observed at harvest and estimated data with technological tendency was removed. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the average yield of soybeans and corn in the comparison between events.

EXPERIMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE NANOPARTICLES TOXICITY OF NICKEL OXIDE IN TWO SIZES IN THE SUBCHRONIC EXPERIMENT

2018 ◽  
pp. 30-35
Author(s):  
M.P. Sutunkova ◽  
B.A. Katsnelson ◽  
L.I. Privalova ◽  
S.N. Solovjeva ◽  
V.B. Gurvich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nickel Oxide ◽  
Nervous Activity ◽  
Equal Mass ◽  
The Body ◽  
Subchronic Toxicity ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Nanoparticles Toxicity

We conducted a comparative assessment of the nickel oxide nanoparticles toxicity (NiO) of two sizes (11 and 25 nm) according to a number of indicators of the body state after repeated intraperitoneal injections of these particles suspensions. At equal mass doses, NiO nanoparticles have been found to cause various manifestations of systemic subchronic toxicity with a particularly pronounced effect on liver, kidney function, the body’s antioxidant system, lipid metabolism, white and red blood, redox metabolism, spleen damage, and some disorders of nervous activity allegedly related to the possibility of nickel penetration into the brain from the blood. The relationship between the diameter and toxicity of particles is ambiguous, which may be due to differences in toxicokinetics, which is controlled by both physiological mechanisms and direct penetration of nanoparticles through biological barriers and, finally, unequal solubility.

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