Daily and Seasonal Rhythms in Selected Body Temperatures in the Australian Lizard Tiliqua rugosa (Scincidae): Field and Laboratory Observations

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dc.contributor.authorFirth, B.
dc.contributor.authorBelan, I.
dc.date.issued1998
dc.descriptionCopyright © 1998 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
dc.description.abstractThis study examined daily and seasonal activity and thermoregu‐latory behaviour of the sleepy lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, a large, diurnally active temperate‐dwelling Australian lizard, in the field and laboratory. Activity temperatures in the field were compared with those selected by lizards in laboratory thermal gradients in order to assess the extent to which endogenous versus exogenous factors contribute to seasonal variations in thermoregulatory behaviour. In the field, lizards are most active in late winter–spring (August –November), during which their activity varies from mostly unimodal on days of mild temperature to bimodal on hot days. In late spring–summer (November–January), activity is largely restricted to early morning, and at all other seasons sleepy lizards are rarely active. The winter–spring activity of sleepy lizards is constrained by low environmental temperatures, as lizards at these seasons have low body temperatures in the field but higher temperatures in laboratory thermal gradients. The lower temperatures selected in the laboratory in the summer–autumn months suggest the avoidance of high ambient temperatures and general inactivity in the field at these times. Thermal selection in the laboratory at the eight times of year tested showed that the phase of the minimum and maximum temperature selected and the amplitude of the rhythm of temperature selected varied continuously with the time of year. These daily and seasonal shifts in thermoregulatory behaviour may be regulated by endogenous physiological mechanisms coupled with seasonal ecological constraints such as food availability.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityBruce T. Firth; Ingrid Belan
dc.identifier.citationPhysiological and Biochemical Zoology, 1998; 71(3):303-311
dc.identifier.doi10.1086/515919
dc.identifier.issn0031-935X
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/5439
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUNIV CHICAGO PRESS
dc.source.urihttp://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/515919
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectAnimals, Laboratory
dc.subjectAnimals, Wild
dc.subjectLizards
dc.subjectBody Temperature
dc.subjectMotor Activity
dc.subjectTemperature
dc.subjectSeasons
dc.subjectBody Temperature Regulation
dc.subjectCircadian Rhythm
dc.subjectAustralia
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectMale
dc.titleDaily and Seasonal Rhythms in Selected Body Temperatures in the Australian Lizard Tiliqua rugosa (Scincidae): Field and Laboratory Observations
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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