Body temperature fluctuations in free-ranging eastern foxsnakes (Elaphe gloydi) during cold-water swimming

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie A MacKinnon ◽  
Anna Lawson ◽  
E D Stevens ◽  
Ronald J Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Clear Trend ◽  
Thermal Biology ◽  
Rapid Temperature ◽  
Free Ranging

We examined the thermal biology of free-ranging terrestrial eastern foxsnakes (Elaphe gloydi Conant, 1940) that were voluntarily swimming in cold water during spring, in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. Using temperature-sensitive radiotelemetry, we recorded body temperatures of foxsnakes during 12 cold-water swims, and subsequent warming on shore. During these swims, water temperatures were from 11 to 22 °C and distances of 85–1330 m were travelled. Snakes that were in cold water long enough equilibrated with water temperature and did not maintain a body temperature above ambient. The largest observed drop in body temperature was 22.6 °C (over 11 min) and the largest increase was 23 °C (over 66 min). Such large, rapid temperature fluctuations have not previously been reported in detail from snakes in the field. Twice as many telemetry observations as expected occurred between 1200 and 1400, suggesting that snakes chose to swim midday. Additionally, our results suggest that foxsnakes bask to raise their body temperature prior to swimming in cold water. We compared swimming speed and the coefficient of temperature change among foxsnakes and other snake species. Swimming speed was positively correlated with water temperature, similar to other findings. We found no clear trend between mass and the coefficients of cooling and warming; however, snakes cooled in water 2.8–8.6 times faster than they warmed in air.

What's hot and what's not: defining torpor in free-ranging birds and mammals

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 1885-1890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert MR Barclay ◽  
Cori L Lausen ◽  
Lydia Hollis
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
The Body ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
The Past ◽  
Data Loggers ◽  
Temperature Thresholds ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Lowered Body

With the development of small implantable data loggers and externally attached temperature-sensitive radio transmitters, increasing attention is being paid to determining the thermoregulatory strategies of free-ranging birds and mammals. One of the constraints of such studies is that without a direct measure of metabolic rate, it is difficult to determine the significance of lowered body temperatures. We surveyed the literature and found that many different definitions have been used to discriminate torpor from normothermy. Many studies use arbitrary temperature thresholds without regard for the normothermic body temperature of the individuals or species involved. This variation makes comparison among studies difficult and means that ecologically and energetically significant small reductions in body temperature may be overlooked. We suggest that normothermic body temperature for each individual animal should be determined and that torpor be defined as occurring when the body temperature drops below that level. When individuals' active temperatures are not available, a species-specific value should be used. Of greater value, however, are the depth and duration of torpor bouts. We suggest several advantages of this definition over those used in the past.

Changes in body temperature and basal metabolic rate of the ama

1963 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. S. Kang ◽  
S. H. Song ◽  
C. S. Suh ◽  
S. K. Hong
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Basal Metabolic Rate ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Average Skin ◽  
Skin Temperatures ◽  
Average Body

Oral temperatures of Korean diving women (ama) were measured before and after diving work in four seasons of the year. Their basal metabolic rate, measured in four seasons, was compared to that of nondiving women who lived in the same community and ate the same diet as the ama. Average oral temperatures declined to 35 C after 70 min of work in summer (water temp., 27 C) and to 33 C after 15 min of work in the winter (water temp., 10 C). Average body temperature, computed from weighted oral and average skin temperatures, declined to 34.6 C in summer and to 30 C in winter. Duration of work periods was determined principally by water temperature, since oral temperature declined at a rate inversely proportional to water temperature. The lower deep body temperatures which the ama endure in winter do, however, prolong their winter work period. The BMR of nondiving women was the same as the Dubois standard throughout the year. However, the BMR of ama varied with the season, ranging from +5 of the Dubois standard in summer to +35 in winter. We conclude that the elevated BMR of ama during the winter is cold adaptation, induced by repeated immersion in cold water. Submitted on November 23, 1962

Heat exchanges in wet suits

1985 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 770-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Wolff ◽  
S. R. Coleshaw ◽  
C. G. Newstead ◽  
W. R. Keatinge
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Metabolic Responses ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Postural Changes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Heat Exchanges ◽  
Skin Temperatures

Flow of water under foam neoprene wet suits could halve insulation that the suits provided, even at rest in cold water. On the trunk conductance of this flow was approximately 6.6 at rest and 11.4 W . m-2 . C-1 exercising; on the limbs, it was only 3.4 at rest and 5.8 W . m-2 . degrees C-1 exercising; but during vasoconstriction in the cold, skin temperatures on distal parts of limbs were lower than were those of the trunk, allowing adequate metabolic responses. In warm water, minor postural changes and movement made flow under suits much higher, approximately 60 on trunk and 30 W . m-2 . degrees C-1 on limbs, both at rest and at work. These changes in flow allowed for a wide range of water temperatures at which people could stabilize body temperature in any given suit, neither overheating when exercising nor cooling below 35 degrees C when still. Even thin people with 4- or 7- mm suits covering the whole body could stabilize their body temperatures in water near 10 degrees C in spite of cold vasodilatation. Equations to predict limits of water temperature for stability with various suits and fat thicknesses are given.

Thermal constraints on swimming performance and escape response of northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon)

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Weatherhead ◽  
Ian C. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Escape Response ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Water Snake ◽  
Northern Water Snakes ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Water Snakes

We examined the influence of body temperature on swimming speed of northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon) and determined how variation in water temperature influenced their escape response. In a laboratory experiment, swimming speed increased as a function of water temperature and body size. Swimming speed was less thermally dependent at temperatures approximating the snakes' normal range of activity, suggesting that selection has favoured increased performance breadth at this range. In the field, basking snakes retreated to water when approached. Despite a decrease in swimming speed at lower temperatures, and the cost associated with reduced metabolic rate due to loss of body temperature, however, flight distances were independent of water temperature. We found that basking snakes retreated to water sooner when perched at lower heights, possibly indicating that N. sipedon are more vulnerable to predators when on low perches. Predicting water snake escape behaviour may require not only knowledge of variation both among snakes and in their environment, but also a better understanding of the interaction between the snakes and their natural predators.

Basking behaviour and torpor use in free-ranging Planigale gilesi

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Warnecke ◽  
Fritz Geiser
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Energy Requirements ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Internal Temperature ◽  
Torpor Bout ◽  
Bout Duration ◽  
Energy Conserving ◽  
Unpredictable Environment ◽  
Free Ranging

We investigated the importance of energy-conserving strategies for free-ranging Planigale gilesi in arid Australia. We monitored torpor use and basking behaviour using internal temperature-sensitive transmitters. Torpor was used every day; the maximum torpor bout duration was 18.2 h and the minimum body temperature was 10.5°C. Basking behaviour was observed during rewarming from torpor as well as during normothermia. The use of torpor and basking is likely to reduce the energy requirements of P. gilesi, thus helping it to survive in a harsh and unpredictable environment.

scholarly journals Cold water temperature anomalies on the Sodwana reefs and their driving mechanisms

2021 ◽  
Vol 117 (9/10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin Wells ◽  
Justin Pringle ◽  
Derek Stretch
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Cyclonic Eddy ◽  
Driving Mechanism ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Temperature Anomalies ◽  
Driving Mechanisms ◽  
Anomaly Pattern ◽  
Cold Water Temperature

The Sodwana reef system experiences short-term temperature fluctuations that may provide relief from bleaching and be crucial in the future survival of the system. These temperature fluctuations are best described as cold water temperature anomaly events that occur over a period of days and cause a drop in temperature of a few degrees on the reef. We explored the statistical link between the temperature anomalies and the regional hydrodynamics to elucidate the driving mechanisms of the temperature anomalies around Sodwana. Temperature measurements taken between 1994 and 2015 on Nine‑Mile Reef at Sodwana show that temperature anomalies occur on average three times per year at Sodwana and predominantly during the summer months. A conditional average of altimetry data at the peak of the temperature anomalies showed the emergence of a negative sea surface height (SSH) anomaly pattern and associated cyclonic eddy just offshore of the Sodwana region. The cyclonic eddies associated with the temperature anomalies originate on the southwestern edge of Madagascar and migrate westwards until they interact with the African coastline at Sodwana. Instantaneous altimetry SSH fields over the 21-year period were cross-correlated to the conditionally averaged SSH field within a 2° region around Sodwana. It was found that 33% of the temperature anomalies at Sodwana were not associated with the presence of cyclonic eddy systems. This finding suggests that an offshore cyclonic eddy interacting with the shelf is not the sole driving mechanism of the temperature anomalies.

scholarly journals Lagged recovery of fish spatial distributions following a cold-water perturbation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Robertson ◽  
J. Gao ◽  
P. M. Regular ◽  
M. J. Morgan ◽  
F. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Nonlinear Effects ◽  
Spatial Distributions ◽  
Spatiotemporal Model ◽  
Yellowtail Flounder

AbstractAnomalous local temperature and extreme events (e.g. heat-waves) can cause rapid change and gradual recovery of local environmental conditions. However, few studies have tested whether species distribution can recover following returning environmental conditions. Here, we tested for change and recovery of the spatial distributions of two flatfish populations, American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) and yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea), in response to consecutive decreasing and increasing water temperature on the Grand Bank off Newfoundland, Canada from 1985 to 2018. Using a Vector Autoregressive Spatiotemporal model, we found the distributions of both species shifted southwards following a period when anomalous cold water covered the northern sections of the Grand Bank. After accounting for density-dependent effects, we observed that yellowtail flounder re-distributed northwards when water temperature returned and exceeded levels recorded before the cold period, while the spatial distribution of American plaice has not recovered. Our study demonstrates nonlinear effects of an environmental factor on species distribution, implying the possibility of irreversible (or hard-to-reverse) changes of species distribution following a rapid change and gradual recovery of environmental conditions.

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