Temperature regulation in the Black Vulture

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Larochelle ◽  
Jeffrey Delson ◽  
Knut Schmidt-Nielsen

Metabolic rate, body temperature, and heat dissipating mechanisms of the Black Vulture were studied under laboratory conditions. The metabolic rate (6.5 W) was close to the predicted one. The body temperature showed considerable variations with air temperature, ranging from 37.7 °C at 15 °C to 42.9 °C at 45 °C. The area of featherless skin on the head and neck changed with the body temperature, thus indicating a role in heat dissipation, and we conclude that these featherless skin areas can be adjusted according to the need for temperature regulation.

1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Geiser

The pattern of torpor was examined in the eastern pygmy possum, Cercartetus nanus (21 g). Animals displayed torpor regularly in the laboratory, and the occurrence of torpor increased with decreasing air temperature (T(a)). At high T(a) (18-degrees-C) animals usually exhibited daily torpor, but torpor bouts of up to 2 days were observed occasionally. The duration of torpor bouts lengthened with a lowering of T(a) and the mean bout duration at T(a) = 5-degrees-C was 17.0 +/- 2.5 days. The minimum metabolic rate (measured as rate of oxygen consumption) of torpid individuals was 0.018 +/- 0.003 mL O2 g-1 h-1, which is less than 2% of the basal metabolic rate. The body temperature (T(b)) Of torpid animals fell to a minimum of 1.3 +/- 0.4-degrees-C. These results clearly demonstrate that Cercartetus nanus is a deep hibernator.


1961 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
BODIL NIELSEN

1. In two species of Lacerta (L. viridis and L. sicula) the effects on respiration of body temperature (changes in metabolic rate) and of CO2 added to the inspired air were studied. 2. Pulmonary ventilation increases when body temperature increases. The increase is brought about by an increase in respiratory frequency. No relationship is found between respiratory depth and temperature. 3. The rise in ventilation is provoked by the needs of metabolism and is not established for temperature regulating purposes (in the temperature interval 10°-35°C). 4. The ventilation per litre O2 consumed has a high numerical value (about 75, compared to about 20 in man). It varies with the body temperature and demonstrates that the inspired air is better utilized at the higher temperatures. 5. Pulmonary ventilation increases with increasing CO2 percentages in the inspired air between o and 3%. At further increases in the CO2 percentage (3-13.5%) it decreases again. 6. At each CO2 percentage the pulmonary ventilation reaches a steady state after some time (10-60 min.) and is then unchanged over prolonged periods (1 hr.). 7. The respiratory frequency in the steady state decreases with increasing CO2 percentages. The respiratory depth in the steady state increases with increasing CO2 percentages. This effect of CO2 breathing is not influenced by a change in body temperature from 20° to 30°C. 8. Respiration is periodically inhibited by CO2 percentages above 4%. This inhibition, causing a Cheyne-Stokes-like respiration, ceases after a certain time, proportional to the CO2 percentage (1 hr. at 8-13% CO2), and respiration becomes regular (steady state). Shift to room air breathing causes an instantaneous increase in frequency to well above the normal value followed by a gradual decrease to normal values. 9. The nature of the CO2 effect on respiratory frequency and respiratory depth is discussed, considering both chemoreceptor and humoral mechanisms.


1912 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Hunt

(1) Comfort and health can readily be maintained in dry heat where for long periods the air temperature is above that of the body.(2) The amount of water absolutely required, and actually consumed, is very large; and this is accounted for by the necessity for neutralising, in some circumstances, the whole heat of metabolism (requiring up to 6,000 c.c.) and in addition a variable but sometimes very large amount of heat added to the body by radiation and conduction.(3) A healthy man carries in his body a large reserve of water, this reserve being mainly stored in muscle and being so readily available that the percentage of water in the blood is not appreciably diminished even when several litres of water have been lost by sweating. If, however, it be extensively drawn on, replacement seems to occupy many hours, and this delay is an important factor, forming a strong argument against any undue or needless use of the stored water owing to restriction of drinking.


2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 603 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Ikonomopoulou ◽  
R. W. Rose

We investigated the metabolic rate, thermoneutral zone and thermal conductance of the eastern barred bandicoot in Tasmania. Five adult eastern barred bandicoots (two males, three non-reproductive females) were tested at temperatures of 3, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40°C. The thermoneutral zone was calculated from oxygen consumption and body temperature, measured during the daytime: their normal resting phase. It was found that the thermoneutral zone lies between 25°C and 30°C, with a minimum metabolic rate of 0.51 mL g–1 h–1 and body temperature of 35.8°C. At cooler ambient temperatures (3–20°C) the body temperature decreased to approximately 34.0°C while the metabolic rate increased from 0.7 to 1.3 mL g–1�h–1. At high temperatures (35°C and 40°C) both body temperature (36.9–38.7°C) and metabolic rate (1.0–1.5 mL g–1 h–1) rose. Thermal conductance was low below an ambient temperature of 30°C but increased significantly at higher temperatures. The low thermal conductance (due, in part, to good insulation, a reduced body temperature at lower ambient temperatures, combined with a relatively high metabolic rate) suggests that this species is well adapted to cooler environments but it could not thermoregulate easily at temperatures above 30°C.


Author(s):  
Bareket Falk ◽  
Raffy Dotan

Under all but the most extreme environmental heat conditions, children control their body temperature (at rest and during exercise) as well as adults. Children, however, use a different thermoregulatory strategy. Compared with adults, children rely more on dry heat dissipation and less on evaporative cooling (sweating). Their larger skin surface-area relative to mass does put children at increasing disadvantage, relative to adults, as ambient temperatures rise above skin temperature. Similarly, they become increasingly disadvantaged upon exposure to decreasing temperatures below the thermo-neutral zone. Like adults, children inadvertently dehydrate while exercising in hot conditions and are often hypohydrated, even before exercise, and their core temperature rises considerably more than adults in response to a given fluid (sweat) loss, which may put them at higher risk for heat-related injury. However, epidemiological data show rates of both heat- and cold-related injuries among children and adolescents as similar or lower than at any other age.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 171359 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Teague O'Mara ◽  
Sebastian Rikker ◽  
Martin Wikelski ◽  
Andries Ter Maat ◽  
Henry S. Pollock ◽  
...  

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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Yue ◽  
Xiao-Long Tang ◽  
De-Jiu Zhang ◽  
Xue-Feng Yan ◽  
Ying Xin ◽  
...  

The body temperature (Tb) and standard metabolic rate (SMR) of female Eremias multiocellata Günther, 1872, a viviparous lizard, were measured at 25, 30, and 35 °C during pregnancy and after parturition to assess energy requirement of reproduction. The results showed that the Tbs of female lizards were slightly higher than actual ambient temperature in the 25 and 30 °C groups, while they were slightly lower than ambient temperature in the 35 °C group. Ambient temperature significantly affected SMR and gestation period of females. Energy requirement was constant in nonpregnant females, whereas it was increased in pregnant females. The maximal estimates of maintenance costs of pregnancy (MCP) were 4.219, 4.220, and 4.448 mg CO2·min–1, which accounted for 19.40%, 14.15%, and 12.32% of the total metabolic rate in the 25, 30, and 35 °C group, respectively. The results indicated the MCP was an important component of total energy cost for the lizard E. multiocellata and the MCP in this lizard incurs a relative fixed energetic cost irrespective of ambient temperature.


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