The Biology of the Gecko Oedura reticulata Bustard, in a Smal Habitat Isolate in the Western Australian Wheatbelt

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 543 ◽  
Author(s):  
RA How ◽  
DJ Kitchner
Keyword(s):  
Dead Wood ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Slight Excess ◽  
Definable Groups ◽  
Eucalypt Woodland ◽  
Western Australian

The arboreal gecko Oedura reticulata was studied in an isolated 1-ha eucalypt woodland in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Females reach maturity in their 4th year and lay two eggs between October and January. Males reach maturity in their 3rd year, their testes are largest between July and October. Young hatch in mid to late summer but immature individuals are infrequently captured during their first 18 months. Individuals live more than 6 years. Population size ranged between 91 and 119 individuals. Individuals were placed into eight definable groups. There was a slight excess of males in each cohort. Activity, which is greatest in summer and least in winter, is closely correlated with ambient temperature. Body temperatures become noticeably higher than ambient temperatures between 23�C and 16�C; below 16�C activity is greatly reduced. The higher numbers of O.reticulata occur on mature smooth-barked eucalypt trees that have both large areas of foliage and dead wood. Only immature individuals frequently occupy rough-barked eucalypts. Their life-history strategy is considered in respect of small, isolated and disturbed remnants of native vegetation.

scholarly journals Contrasting capabilities of two ungulate species to cope with extremes of aridity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Boyers ◽  
Francesca Parrini ◽  
Norman Owen-Smith ◽  
Barend F. N. Erasmus ◽  
Robyn S. Hetem
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Water ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
Connochaetes Taurinus

AbstractSouthern Africa is expected to experience increased frequency and intensity of droughts through climate change, which will adversely affect mammalian herbivores. Using bio-loggers, we tested the expectation that wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), a grazer with high water-dependence, would be more sensitive to drought conditions than the arid-adapted gemsbok (Oryx gazella gazella). The study, conducted in the Kalahari, encompassed two hot-dry seasons with similar ambient temperatures but differing rainfall patterns during the preceding wet season. In the drier year both ungulates selected similar cooler microclimates, but wildebeest travelled larger distances than gemsbok, presumably in search of water. Body temperatures in both species reached lower daily minimums and higher daily maximums in the drier season but daily fluctuations were wider in wildebeest than in gemsbok. Lower daily minimum body temperatures displayed by wildebeest suggest that wildebeest were under greater nutritional stress than gemsbok. Moving large distances when water is scarce may have compromised the energy balance of the water dependent wildebeest, a trade-off likely to be exacerbated with future climate change.

Phenological development and seasonal distribution of the rutherglen bug, Nnysius vinitor Bergroth (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae), on various hosts in Victoria, south-eastern Australia

1988 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garrick McDonald ◽  
A. Mark Smith
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Development ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Polygonum Aviculare ◽  
Developmental Thresholds ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Weed Hosts ◽  
Maximum Temperatures

AbstractPopulations of Nysius vinitor Bergroth were studied from 1979 to 1982 in two weed hosts, Arctotheca calendula and Polygonum aviculare, and eight irrigated sunflower crops in a summer cropping area of northern Victoria, Australia. The spring generation began with the adults colonizing flowering A.calendula plants in September and concluded with the rapid development of late stage nymphs and an exodus of adults from these plants from mid-November to December. Gradual invasion of sunflowers occurred mostly in late December and reached a peak at flowering, after which nymphs appeared. P. aviculare attracted adults from February and hosted a number of overlapping generations until winter. The weed sustained diminishing numbers of adults through the winter, except in 1982, when a further generation produced an early spring peak. Immigrant populations were regarded as a common source of adults for initiating the spring and summer generations. The rate of development of N. vinitor in spring was more rapid than that predicted by phenological simulation based on ambient temperatures and laboratory-derived day-degree estimates. This was attributed to increased body temperatures through absorption of solar radiation, and the simulation model was adjusted by increasing daily minimum and maximum temperatures by 1·3 and 5·5°C for young and older instars, respectively. This suggested that older nymphs have lower developmental thresholds or are better able to optimize body temperatures.

scholarly journals Body Temperatures in Some Australian Mammals II.Peramelidae

1962 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 386 ◽  
Author(s):  
PR Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Active Phase ◽  
Temperature Measurements ◽  
Temperature Cycle ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Diurnal Temperature

Body temperature measurements on the short-nosed bandicoot (Thylacis obeaulus) have shown a nocturnal cycle with a range of 1� 2�C and a short active phase at 2200-0400 hr. The bilby or rabbit bandicoot (Macrotis lagoti8) had a sharply defined temperature cycle, with a range of almost 3�C after several months of captivity, during which the day-time resting temperature was progressively lowered from 36� 4 to 34� 2�C. Forced activity raised the diurnal temperature substantially but not to the nocturnal level. Forced activity did not raise the nocturnal level which was similar in the two species (37' O�C). Both species could regulate effectively at an ambient temperature of 5�C, but only Thylaci8 showed regulation at ambient temperatures of between 30 and 40�C.

Parasympathetic influence on heart rate in euthermic and hibernating ground squirrels.

1995 ◽  
Vol 198 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
M B Harris ◽  
W K Milsom
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Parasympathetic Nervous System ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Inotropic Effects ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Isolated Hearts ◽  
C 32

The relative role of the parasympathetic nervous system during deep hibernation is enigmatic. Conflicting hypotheses exist, and both sides draw support from investigations of vagal influence on the heart. Recent studies have shown cardiac chronotropic and inotropic effects of parasympathetic stimulation and inhibition in isolated hearts and anesthetized animals at hibernating body temperatures. No studies, however, have demonstrated such occurrences in undisturbed deeply hibernating animals. The present study documents respiratory-related alterations in heart rate during euthermia and hibernation at ambient temperatures of 15, 10 and 5 degrees C mediated by parasympathetic influence. During quiet wakefulness, euthermic squirrels breathed continuously and exhibited a 29% acceleration in heart rate during inspiration. During deep undisturbed hibernation, at 15, 10 and 5 degrees C ambient temperature, animals exhibited an episodic breathing pattern and body temperatures were slightly above ambient temperature. At each temperature, heart rate during the respiratory episode was greater than that during the apnea. The magnitude of this ventilatory tachycardia decreased with ambient temperature, being 108% at 15 degrees C, 32% at 10 degrees C and 11.5% at 5 degrees C. Animals exposed to 3% CO2 at 5 degrees C, which significantly increased ventilation, still exhibited an 11.7% increase in heart rate during breathing. Thus, the magnitude of the ventilation tachycardia was independent of the level of ventilation, at least over the range studied. Inhibition of vagus nerve conduction at 5 degrees C was achieved using localized nerve block. This led to an increase in apneic heart rate and abolished the ventilatory tachycardia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

In defence of small habitat islands: Termites (Isoptera) in the Western Australian central wheatbelt, and the importance of dispersal power in species occurrence

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Abensperg-Traun ◽  
Max Abensperg-Traun
Keyword(s):  
Dead Wood ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Species Number ◽  
Termite Species ◽  
South West ◽  
Trees On Farms ◽  
Habitat Islands ◽  
Spatial Isolation ◽  
Isolation Effects ◽  
Western Australian

Ecological theory has long undervalued the contribution of small remnants of native vegetation to nature conservation. This study provides data on colony persistence of remnant-dependent wood-eating termites in 28 remnants of mature wandoo (Eucalyptus capillosa) trees in paddock situations in the agricultural south-west of Western Australia. Remnants ranged in size from 2 to 30 trees, and in spatial isolation from 50 to 650 m. All remnants have been exposed to livestockrelated disturbance for >40 years. This study found that (1) Small remnants of eucalypt trees on farms retain important functional representatives, i.e., wood-eating termites for nutrient-cycling, and high species numbers. (2) Seventeen species have the capacity to establish and maintain colonies in remnants =5 trees. (3) Spatial isolation has no significant influence on the total number of termite species. (4) The number of trees (r = 0.60) and quantity of dead wood in the remnant (r = 0.86) were significant indicators of total termite species number. Larger remnants with low quantities of wood supported few termites, however. (5) Rare as well as common species persisted in small remnants. (6) Alate wing-size was a significant indicator of the occurrence of the six most common termite species in remnants (r = 0.84). The implication of isolation effects for rare species with limited powers of dispersal is self-evident, as is the need for the creation of habitat linkeages to reduce the effects of spatial isolation on the native fauna.

scholarly journals Testing the heat dissipation limit theory in a breeding passerine

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1878) ◽  
pp. 20180652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Åke Nilsson ◽  
Andreas Nord
Keyword(s):  
Heat Dissipation ◽  
Work Rate ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Limit Theory ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Metabolic Heat ◽  
Thermal Window ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
Maximum Work ◽  
Males And Females

The maximum work rate of animals has recently been suggested to be determined by the rate at which excess metabolic heat generated during work can be dissipated (heat dissipation limitation (HDL) theory). As a first step towards testing this theory in wild animals, we experimentally manipulated brood size in breeding marsh tits ( Poecile palustris ) to change their work rate. Parents feeding nestlings generally operated at above-normal body temperatures. Body temperature in both males and females increased with maximum ambient temperature and with manipulated work rate, sometimes even exceeding 45°C, which is close to suggested lethal levels for birds. Such high body temperatures have previously only been described for birds living in hot and arid regions. Thus, reproductive effort in marsh tits may potentially be limited by the rate of heat dissipation. Females had lower body temperatures, a possible consequence of their brood patch serving as a thermal window facilitating heat dissipation. Because increasing body temperatures are connected to somatic costs, we suggest that the HDL theory may constitute a possible mediator of the trade-off between current and future reproduction. It follows that globally increasing, more stochastic, ambient temperatures may restrict the capacity for sustained work of animals in the future.

Ecological Studies of Arctic Cod (Boreogadus saida) in Beaufort Sea Coastal Waters, Alaska

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Craig ◽  
W. B. Griffiths ◽  
L. Haldorson ◽  
H. McElderry
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Beaufort Sea ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
Boreogadus Saida ◽  
Arctic Cod ◽  
Arctic Fish ◽  
Slow Growing

Fish use of Beaufort Sea coastal waters was examined during summer and winter periods 1977–80. Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) were abundant but their occurrence was highly variable. They accounted for 8–78% of all fish caught in Simpson Lagoon during two summers, and 0.4–100% of catches at various coastal sites in winter. Arctic cod increased in abundance in the lagoon during late summer and some association was noted between their numbers and higher salinities but not temperature or turbidity. Some cod remained in shallow waters in early winter but deeper areas were used through the winter, and the highest catch rate was recorded 175 km offshore. Principal foods of the cod in nearshore waters were mysids (Mysis litoralis, M. relicta), amphipods (Onisimus glacialis), and copepods. The cod caught were generally small (60–170 mm) and young (ages 1–3). Most males matured at ages 2–3 and females at age 3. These size, age, and maturity characteristics indicate a life history strategy (r-selection) unlike that typified by many other arctic fish populations, particularly the freshwater and anadromous species which tend to be slow growing, late maturing and long-lived (K-selection).Key words: Arctic cod, Boreogadus saida; Beaufort Sea, distribution, life history strategy

Limited behavioural thermoregulation by adult upriver-migrating sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Lower Fraser River, British Columbia

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 480-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Donaldson ◽  
S. J. Cooke ◽  
D. A. Patterson ◽  
S. G. Hinch ◽  
D. Robichaud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
And Migration

The objective of this study was to combine radio telemetry with individual thermal loggers to assess the extent to which adult migrating sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) behaviourally thermoregulate during their migration through the Fraser River mainstem, British Columbia. The Fraser mainstem represents a region of the migration route that contains some of the highest mean temperatures encountered by sockeye salmon during their life history. We found that throughout the study area, individual sockeye salmon body temperatures occasionally deviated from ambient temperatures (ΔT), yet individuals maintained a ΔT of –1 °C or cooler for only 5% of their migration through the study region. There were moderate mean deviations of ΔT in two segments that are known to contain thermally stratified waters. In one of the study segments with the greatest ΔT, mean body temperatures decreased as river temperatures increased and ΔT became increasingly positive with higher river discharge rates, but these relationships were not observed in any of the other study segments. No relationship existed between ΔT and migration rate. While periodic associations with cool water were evident, mean body temperatures were not significantly different than mean river temperatures throughout the lower Fraser mainstem. This finding raises further conservation concerns for vulnerable Fraser River sockeye stocks that are predicted to encounter increasing peak summer river temperatures in the coming decades.

scholarly journals Endothermy in African Dung Beetles During Flight, Ball Making, and Ball Rolling

1978 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEORGE A. BARTHOLOMEW ◽  
BERND HEINRICH
Keyword(s):  
Cooling Rate ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Partial Correlation ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Ball Rolling ◽  
Competition For Food

1. Body temperatures of diurnal and nocturnal ball-rolling and non ballrolling dung beetles (in particular the genera Scarabaeus, Kheper, Gymnopleurus and Heliocopris) were studied in the field in Kenya. 2. The beetles were conspicuously endothermic during flight, ball making, and ball rolling. When at rest, their body temperatures did not differ significantly from that of their surroundings. They did not always generate high body temperatures while walking. However, they sometimes warmed up prior to walking and subsequently maintained a large difference between body and ambient temperatures. 3. The nocturnal species, S. laevistriatus, was conspicuously endothermic during ball making and ball rolling, often maintaining thoracic temperatures of 40 °C or more in an ambient temperature of 25–26 °C. In this species, the velocity of ball rolling increased linearly with body temperature from 5 cm/sec at 28 °C to 18 cm/sec at 40 °C. 4. The take-off temperatures of dung beetles increased with body mass up to 2.5g. In beetles larger than 2.5g metathoracic temperatures at take-off ranged from 40 to 44 °CC and were independent of mass. 5. Flight temperatures showed essentially the same pattern as take-off temperatures, increasing with mass up to about 42 °C at 2.5 g and being independent of mass thereafter. 6. Both flight and take-off temperatures increased with wing-loading up to about 35 N/m2, but were independent of wing loading from 35 to 65 N/m2. 7. In each of the species for which we had an adequate sample, wing loading increased linearly with body mass. Partial correlation analysis suggests that metathoracic temperature is more dependent on body mass than on wing-loading. 8. During periods of endothermy, metathoracic temperature exceeded prothoracic temperature, and abdominal temperature was lower than that of either the prothorax or metathorax. 9. Cooling rate was inversely related to body mass. The removal of elytra and wings caused the cooling rate to increase by about one-quarter. 10. Elevated body temperatures in dung beetles during terrestrial activity is probably selectively advantageous in competition for food. A high metathoracic temperature is a necessary condition for take-off and flight in the larger species. 11. Mechanisms of heat production and the evidence for thermoregulation are discussed.

scholarly journals Time Budgets and Body Temperatures of American Golden-Plover Chicks in Relation to Ambient Temperature

The Condor ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Krijgsveld ◽  
Jeroen W. H. Reneerkens ◽  
Gabriel D. McNett ◽  
Robert E. Ricklefs
Keyword(s):  
Normal Growth ◽  
Time Budgets ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Digestive Efficiency ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Save Energy ◽  
Sufficient Food ◽  
Golden Plover ◽  
Foraging Time

Abstract We studied time budgets of precocial chicks of American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis dominica) on the tundra near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to assess how time budgets are influenced by environmental and body temperatures. Foraging time per day increased with increasing ambient temperatures and levels of solar radiation, as well as with age. This increase was due to an increase in the length of foraging bouts (i.e., the period of time in between two brooding bouts). The length of brooding bouts averaged 12 min, independent of ambient conditions or age. Body temperatures were lower under colder environmental conditions and increased as the chicks grew older. Based on measurements of cooling rates of penned chicks, we determined that at the end of a foraging bout, body temperature never fell below 35.5°C, which is high for a precocial chick. We suggest that in Churchill, American Golden-Plover chicks are not limited in their foraging time by ambient conditions, and they can collect sufficient food in the short periods of foraging that are available to them to sustain normal growth. By minimizing foraging bout length in favor of parental brooding, chicks may increase their digestive efficiency as well as save energy that would otherwise be expended on thermoregulation and locomotion. Presupuesto de Tiempo y Temperaturas Corporales de Polluelos de Pluvialis dominica y su Relación con la Temperatura Ambiental Resumen. Se estudió el presupuesto de tiempo de polluelos precociales de Pluvialis dominica en la tundra ubicada en las cercanías de Churchill, Manitoba, Canadá, para evaluar de qué manera el presupuesto de tiempo está influenciado por las temperaturas ambiental y corporal. El tiempo de forrajeo incrementó con el aumento de la temperatura ambiental, con los niveles de radiación solar y con la edad. Esto se debió a un incremento de la duración de las sesiones de forrajeo (es decir, el periodo de tiempo entre dos sesiones de empollamiento). La duración de las sesiones de empollamiento tuvo una media de 12 min, independientemente de las condiciones ambientales o de la edad. Las temperaturas corporales fueron inferiores bajo condiciones ambientales más frías, y aumentaron conforme a la edad de los polluelos. En base a medidas de la tasa de enfriamiento de pollos cautivos, es posible precisar que al final de una sesión de forrajeo, la temperatura corporal nunca es menor de 35.5°C, el cual es un valor elevado para un polluelo precocial. Sugerimos que en Churchill, el tiempo de forrajeo de los polluelos de P. dominica no está limitado por las condiciones ambientales y que los polluelos pueden acopiar suficiente alimento durante las cortas sesiones de forrajeo que disponen para mantener un crecimiento normal. La disminución de la duración de la sesión de forrajeo en favor de la incubación, les permite aumentar su eficacia digestiva y ahorrar energía, la que de otro modo podría emplearse en termorregulación o locomoción.

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