Amphibian temperature regulation studies in the field and laboratory
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
1979 |
Authors: |
BH. Brattstrom |
Publication/Journal: |
American Zoologist |
Keywords: |
amphibians, behavioral thermoregulation, body temperatures of field animals, evaporative water loss, field studies, lab studies, physiological thermoregulation, reptiles, t, thermal acclimation, thermal and moisture gradient behavior, thermoregulation |
Abstract:
Studies on thermoregulation in the laboratory and field have come a long way from the early work done between 1940 and 1960. While some physiological studies on amphibians have progressed at the same rate as those on reptiles, field studies have been far behind. Laboratory studies have largely delt with thermal acclimation, evaporative water loss, and thermal and moisture gradient behavior. Field studies, following early summaries of body temperatures of field animals, have stressed behavioral thermoregulation; yet, detailed studies on behavioral thermoregulation in amphibians have been completed for only a handful of species. A few studies have placed behavioral and physiological thermoregulation into an ecological or energetic framework; these studies are reviewed, and suggestions are made for future work.