Seasonal Variation in Thermoregulatory Behavior and Body Temperature of Diurnal Kalahari Lizards

Ecology ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 1066-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond B. Huey ◽  
Eric R. Pianka
2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 769-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid A. Abdoun ◽  
Emad M. Samara . ◽  
Aly B. Okab . ◽  
Ahmed I. Al-Haidary .

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4698 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Daversa ◽  
Camino Monsalve-Carcaño ◽  
Luis M. Carrascal ◽  
Jaime Bosch

Risks of parasitism vary over time, with infection prevalence often fluctuating with seasonal changes in the annual cycle. Identifying the biological mechanisms underlying seasonality in infection can enable better prediction and prevention of future infection peaks. Obtaining longitudinal data on individual infections and traits across seasons throughout the annual cycle is perhaps the most effective means of achieving this aim, yet few studies have obtained such information for wildlife. Here, we tracked spiny common toads (Bufo spinosus) within and across annual cycles to assess seasonal variation in movement, body temperatures and infection from the fungal parasite, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Across annual cycles, toads did not consistently sustain infections but instead gained and lost infections from year to year. Radio-tracking showed that infected toads lose infections during post-breeding migrations, and no toads contracted infection following migration, which may be one explanation for the inter-annual variability in Bd infections. We also found pronounced seasonal variation in toad body temperatures. Body temperatures approached 0 °C during winter hibernation but remained largely within the thermal tolerance range of Bd. These findings provide direct documentation of migratory recovery (i.e., loss of infection during migration) and escape in a wild population. The body temperature reductions that we observed during hibernation warrant further consideration into the role that this period plays in seasonal Bd dynamics.


1975 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 1174-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell Myhre ◽  
Michel Cabanac ◽  
Grete Myhre

Endocrinology ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 996-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
RUTH A. YOUNG ◽  
ELLIOT DANFORTH ◽  
APOSTOLOS G. VAGENAKIS ◽  
PATRICIA P. KRUPP ◽  
RUTH FRINK ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah I Lutterschmidt ◽  
William I Lutterschmidt ◽  
Victor H Hutchison

Precise behavioral thermoregulation is well documented in many ectothermic vertebrates. However, many complexities involving the influence of the pineal gland and melatonin (MEL) on thermoregulatory behavior, and thus body temperature (Tb), remain unresolved. Although MEL is commonly considered to decrease Tb in both endotherms and ectotherms, several ectothermic species do not modulate Tb in response to MEL. Furthermore, it is not yet clear how MEL integrates thermoregulatory behavior with environmental stimuli or how it modulates Tb. Some inferences about MEL action in endotherms are not applicable to ectotherms. Changes in ectothermic Tb are mediated primarily through behavioral modulation (not physiological modulation as in endotherms). Thus, the most likely mechanism underlying MEL's actions on ectothermic Tb is adjustment of the temperature set point in the hypothalamus. We provide a review of the literature addressing the effects of MEL on thermoregulatory behavior in ectothermic vertebrates. We also discuss mechanisms underlying MEL's influence on physiological and behavioral processes in ectotherms and hypotheses regarding interspecific differences in pineal complex and MEL function.


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