Daphnia development and reproduction: Responses to temperature

1. 1.|The development times and reproduction were measured for Daphnia pulex and Daphnia magna from 5 to 30°C at 5°C increments.

2. 2.|The general trends for D. pulex and D. magna were for the duration of all juvenile instars to be less than that of adults and for the last juvenile (or adolescent) instar to be longer than all previous juvenile instars.

3. 3.|The number of juvenile instars both species pass through before adulthood is influenced by temperature with increasing numbers occurring at temperature extremes.

4. 4.|Duration of development time decreased over the entire range of increasing temperatures measured for D. pulex but increased for D. magna at 30°C in relation to 25°C.

5. 5.|Quadratic models were less desirable than simple linear logarithmic transformations of the form ln Y = ln a + b ln X for describing the temperature/development relationship.

6. 6.|The greatest young production occurs at 15 and 20°C with significant decreases occurring at temperatures above and below these.

7. 7.|The observed temperature-dependent phenomena an the ecological relationships for the two species are discussed.

The effect of temperature on caecal fermentation processes in a poikilothermic mammal, Heterocephalus glaber

1. 1.|The effect of temperature on caecal function was examined in the naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber, a poikilothermic mammal, which consumes a high proportion of fibre in its natural diet.

2. 2.|The temperature of optimal caecal function was determined from fermentation data measure at three specifically chosen temperatures (28, 33 and 40°C).

3. 3.|There was no significant difference between gas production at 33 and 40°C, however, gas production was significantly lower at 28°C.

4. 4.|The relative proportions of the gases produced were markedly different at 33 and 40°C (P ≤ 0.01). More methane and hydrogen were produced at 33°C than at 40°C.

5. 5.|These data suggest that microbial organisms within the caecum were active and functioning more effectively at 33°C (the preferred body temperature of the naked mole-rat) than at the other two temperatures.

Some effects of thyroidectomy on growth, heat production and the thermoregulatory ability of the immature fowl (Gallus domesticus)

1. 1.|The effect of thyroidectomy at 12 days of age on weight gain, and on heat production and thermoregulatory ability of 4- to 5-week-old chickens at temperatures within and below the thermo-neutral zone was investigated.

2. 2.|Despit the absence of thyroid tissue, as demonstrated with radioiodine, a small amount of thyroxine was found in the plasma of some thyroidectomized (TX) birds.

3. 3.|Thyroidectomy depressed weight gain; pair-fed controls grew significantly faster than TX birds.

4. 4.|Resting heat production of TX birds at thermoneutrality (30°C) was depressed by 18% (P < 0.001) and body temperature by 0.4°C (P < 0.001).

5. 5.|At 12°C heat production of TX birds was similar to that of controls but the body temperature of TX birds was 0.7°C lower (P < 0.001).

6. 6.|Thyroidectomized birds were unable to regulate body temperature at 5°C even if thyroxine was provided on the day before and at the time of cold-exposure. This inability to thermoregulate was probably due to inadequate insulation and poor nutritional status.

The combined effects of ambient temperature and enforced sustained swimming activity on body temperatures of arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus L.)

1. 1.|The difference between tissue temperatures and ambient water temperatures (ΔT) of the ectothermic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus L.) ranged between 0.2 and 0.6°C.

2. 2.|For fish held at 5.7°C there were no significant differences in ΔT of exercising fish and those of controls.

3. 3.|By contrast, for fish held at 1.7°C sustained exercise led to a significant increase in ΔT of all body compartments compared with fish held in standing water (controls).

4. 4.|It is suggested that Arctic charr are capable of a limited control of metabolic heat exchange between body compartments and surrounding water when subjected to sustained exercise and ambient temperatures <2°C.

The effect of acclimation temperature and the removal of peripheral temperature receptors on body temperature preference in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana

1. 1.|Body temperature preferences were compared between cockroaches acclimated to different ambient temperatures and between 25°C acclimated cockroaches and cockroaches deprived of their peripheral temperature receptors.

2. 2.|Acclimation to 35°C resulted in a significantly higher mean body temperature and low body temperature selected compared with 25°C acclimated cockroaches.

3. 3.|Cockroaches deprived of their peripheral temperature receptors showed a significantly higher mean high body temperature selected when compared to normal 25°C acclimated cockroaches.

4. 4.|It is concluded that cockroach temperature regulation is more precise than expected and that central temperature receptors are the primary sensing elements for cockroach thermoregulation.

Thermosensitivity during embryonic development of Lymnaea stagnalis (Mollusca)

1. 1.|The percentage of survival after 1 hr at 40.0°C is lowest at the larval trochophore stage and at hatching of the young snail.

2. 2.|Heat resistance depends on the stage of development.

3. 3.|From the early cleavage stage onwards a higher percentage of embryos can withstand high temperature after a previous heat treatment than without it.

4. 4.|The pattern of thermosensitivity is discussed in relation to the organizational level of the stage of development.

5. 5.|It is concluded that the developing Lymnaea is a suitable system to study heat resistance and thermotolerance at the level of cells, organs and organism.

Temperature acclimation of axonal functions in the crayfish Astacus astacus L.

1. 1.|Crayfish (Astacus astacus L.) were acclimated for 1–3 weeks at 5 and 20°C. The effects of temperature on the functions of the unicellular medial giant axon were studied.

2. 2.|The resting membrane potential of the giant axon increased slightly with the experimental temperature from 2 to 32°C. The temperature dependence of the resting membrane potential could be described by two lines, which intersected at about 12°C in cold-acclimated crayfish and at about 16°C in the warm-acclimated.

3. 3.|The amplitude of the action potential was stable at temperatures from 4 to 26°C. It decreased at temperatures above 26°C in both acclimation groups.

4. 4.|The duration of the falling phase of action potential was highly temperature dependent at low temperatures. A break in the slope of the dependence was found at about 14°C in cold-acclimated crayfish and at about 17°C in the warm-acclimated.

Hatching of freshwater sponge gemmules after low temperature exposure: Ephydatia mülleri (Porifera: Spongillidae)

1. 1.|Gemmules of Ephydatia mülleri can withstand exposure to temperatures down to −80°C for 63 days without loss of hatchability.

2. 2.|Hatching is slowed following exposure to temperatures below −27°C.

3. 3.|There is a slight but significant relationship between gemmule size and the time to hatch.

4. 4.|This species can withstand long-term exposure to winter air temperatures occurring within its known geographic range.

Exercise in the heat: Effects of dinitrophenol administration

1. 1.|Dinitrophenol (DNP) was administered to rats in two equal dosages (20 mg/kg, 30 min interval); the second injection was followed immediately by exercise (9.14 m/min) in the heat (30°C) or at room temperature (21°C).

2. 2.|At 21°C control (saline-treated) rats manifested a mean endurance of 94 min which was reduced to 32 min among DNP-treated animals.

3. 3.|At 30°C, control rats ran for 65 min (δT_re/min = 0.05°C) while DNP-treated animals had a mean endurance of only 12 min (δT_re/min = 0.22°C).

4. 4.|DNP-treated rats (30°C) manifested no decrements in tail-skin heat loss (δT_sk/min = 0.17°C vs 0.10°C) or saliva secretion (0.78 g/min, DNP vs. 0.19 g/min, control) for their brief treadmill duration.

5. 5.|The increased metabolic heat production of DNP severely reduced performance.

Temperature gradients in the nasal cavity of the rabbit

1. 1.|Temperatures at four sites along the ventral nasal concha were recorded in four unrestrained rabbits exposed to ambient temperatures from 0 to 35°C.

2. 2.|The nasal temperatures decreased and temperature gradients from proximal to distal parts of the concha increased in cold-exposed rabbits.

3. 3.|The temperature gradients increased also during panting in heat-stressed rabbits.

4. 4.|The ventral nasal concha is suggested to be an efficacious heat exchanger both in cold and hot ambient, due to its geometry and vascularization.

The effect of incubation temperatuer on oxygen consumption and organ growth in domestic-fowl embryos

1. 1.|Oxygen consumption and organ growth were measured in domestic-fowl embryos incubated at different temperatures (36, 38 and 40°C).

2. 2.|Embryonic oxygen consumption was highest at an incubation temperature of 40°C and lowest at 36°C. These differences were ascribed largely to variations in embryo size at different incubation temperatures.

3. 3.|At incubation temperatuers of 40 and 38°C, there was a plateau in oxygen consumption late in incubation, but this was not apparent at 36°C.

4. 4.|At 36°C, some tissues (e.g. eyeballs) were “spared” the repression of growth that characterized the embryo as a whole, while other tissues (e.g. stomach) incurred a much greater growth reduction. Similarly, at 40°C, stomach growth exceeded that of the embryo as a whole, while the eyeballs were largely spared the enhanced growth.

5. 5.|A simple index of tissue age revealed that, in general, there were consensual changes in tissue maturity and growth at different temperatures but that there were some disparities between growth and maturity in individual organs.

Thermal responses of the fresh water turtle Mauremys caspica to step-function changes in the ambient temperature

1. 1.|The turtle Mauremys caspica cools significantly faster than it heats in air. The heating/cooling ratio is 0.49.

2. 2.|The variation of body temperature in relation to time-course in response to a step-function change of environmental temperature, fitted to a second-order system improves that of a first-order system.

3. 3.|The gradient between ambient temperature (T_a) and equilibrium body temperature (T_b) increases significantly and progressively when ambient temperature rises over 25°C.

4. 4.|At 40°C thermoregulatory hyperventilation was detected, implying an increase in air convection requirement (ventilation relative to O₂ consumption, ).

Temperature effects on evoked potentials of hippocampal slices from noncold-acclimated, cold-acclimated and hibernating hamsters

1. 1.|Neural activity was recorded in hippocampal slices from noncold-acclimated, cold-acclimated and hibernating hamsters.

2. 2.|Action potentials from a population of hippocampal pyramidal neurons were evoked by stimulating an afferent fiber tract, the Schaffer collaterals. The temperature of the artificial cerebrospinal fluid bathing the slice was varied by controlling the temperature of a water chamber jacketing the recording chamber.

3. 3.|The temperature just below that at which a population spike could be evoked, T_t, was 15.8 ± 0.9°C (mean ± SEM) for noncold-acclimated hamsters, 13.9 ± 0.3°C for cold-acclimated hamsters and 12.3 ± 0.3°C for hibernating hamsters.

4. 4.|These thresholds for evoked activity were significantly different in noncold-acclimated, cold-acclimated and hibernating hamsters, and may reflect acclimation of hippocampal neurons to cold.

Selected body temperatures in the lizard Lacerta vivipara: Variation within and between populations

1. 1.|Selected body temperatures (SBT) of adult male, female and subadult Lacerta vivipara from a Belgian population, were measured monthly in a laboratory thermogradient.

2. 2.|Monthly mean SBTs varied between 29.9 and 34.0°C and differed significantly among months in all three lizard groups, and among lizard groups in 4 out of 6 months.

3. 3.|Evidence for a positive relationship between monthly SBT and air temperature was found in the subadults, but not in the adult lizards.

4. 4.|Monthly mean SBTs measured in this study were consistently higher (mean difference = 2.0°C) than those obtained by Patterson and Davies (1978) in a similar study on Lacerta vivipara from southern England.

Autonomic thermoregulatory effects of electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus in the sheep (Ovis aries)

1. 1.|The effects of electrical stimulation of the preoptic region, on autonomic thermoregulatory responses, were studied in conscious sheep at ambient temperatures of 5, 20, and 40°C.

2. 2.|Stimulation of the dorsal preoptic region elicited co-ordinated thermoregulatory responses characterized by increased respiratory frequency (RF), vasodilation of the ears and lowered body temperature. Stimulation inhibited shivering in cold environments.

3. 3.|The thermoregulatory responses were greater at 5°C in unshorn than in shorn sheep. Increased RF, induced at 20 and 40°C, persisted several minutes after stimulation ceased.

4. 4.|Intraventricular injection of noradrenaline reduced both normal and electrically-induced panting.

5. 5.|Sheep would press panels to electrically stimulate the preoptic region and this “self-stimulation” activated heat-loss mechanisms.

Temperature dependence of the germination of tomato seeds

1. 1.|The germination of tomato “C38” seeds exposed to periodical white incandescent light occurs from 6.0° ± 0.2°C to 37.5° ± 0.2°C, being rate-limited for 10.3° T 25.9°C, and elsewhere limited by the germination capacity.

2. 2.|Rate averages are linearly T-dependent outside their optimum range (25.9° T 29.5°C) and rate variances are typically heterogeneous.

3. 3.|The smooth curvilinear Arrhenius plot indicates that diffusion processes cannot be rate-limiting outside the interval 25.9° T 29.5°C, whereas phase transitions and (or) transconformation of proteins may limit the rate above 34.9°C and, by opposite effects, below 15.3°C.

4. 4.|The thermal communication between the environment and the germinating seed proceeds by a temperature signal which is quenched by random thermal noise at T 11.2°C and at T 34.0°C.

Effect of temperature on the electrical activity of the rat epididymis in vitro

1. 1.|Regional differences in the frequency of electrical activity in rat epididymis were maintained at all temperatures below 39°C.

2. 2.|The change in frequency per deg C increased with temperature and was highest in the temperature region of 34–39°C and the Arrhenius plots of the frequency were linear and parallel in all parts of the epididymis.

3. 3.|The Q₁₀ of the frequency varied between 2.2.–4.3.

4. 4.|The conduction velocity at the cauda epididymis was highest (2.8 mm/s) at 37°C. The Q₁₀ of the conduction velocity was 2.3 in the temperature region of 24–37°C.

Variations in the activity of fatty ACYL-CoA desaturases and electron-transport components in Tetrahymena microsomes with temperature and age of culture

1. 1.|Alterations in the fatty acid composition of microsomes were most marked in the exponential phase of both 39.5- or 15°C- grown Tetrahymena pyriformis NT-1.

2. 2.|Activities of palmitoyl-CoA and stearoyl-CoA desaturases were lower in 15°C cells than in 39.5°C cells, while the activity of oleoyl-CoA desaturase was higher in 15°C cells.

3. 3.|Activities of the terminal component of the desaturation system as well as all three desaturases (palmitoyl-CoA, stearoyl-CoA, oleoyl-CoA) were higher in the exponential phase than in the stationary phase for cells grown at both temperatures.

4. 4.|NAD(P)H-cytochrome c reductase activity and cytochrome b₅ content were reduced whereas NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity was increased in the stationary phase at both 39.5 and 15°C.

Influence of temperature changes on the ability of gangliosides to complex with Ca

1. 1.|The influence of temperature changes on Ca²⁺-binding to brain ganglioside mixtures of different polarity, to single gangliosides (G_M1, G_D1a, G_T1b) and to their deceramide was investigated potentiometrically by means of ion-selective electrodes.

2. 2.|Following cooling (3.5°C/min.) from 37 to 13°C the Ca²⁺-binding to gangliosides, except G_M1, was increased (7–30%).

3. 3.|Subsequent rewarming from 13 to 37°C resulted in up to 100% release of previously-bound Ca²⁺.

4. 4.|When comparing the maximal absolute binding difference of Ca²⁺ to gangliosides during temperature changes a decrease of these differences could be stated which corresponds to an increase in the polarity of the gangliosides.

5. 5.|From these experiments it is concluded that a higher polarity of neuronal gangliosides is responsible for a lower thermal sensitivity of Ca²⁺-binding to these compounds. This may be involved in the process of thermal adaptation of ectothermic vertebrates.

Alteration of heat sensitivity by treatment with nonpermissive temperature or cycloheximide in temperature-sensitive CHO mutant tsH1 cell

1. 1.|The temperature-sensitive mutant CHO-tsH1 and wild type (CHO-SC) cells became thermal resistant when cells were treated for either 2 h at 39.5°C before heating at 43°C or 2 h with 10 μg/ml cycloheximide (CHM) before and during heating at 43°C.

2. 2.|There was a 2000-fold increase in survival after 2.5 h at 43°C by preincubation at 39.5°C in both cell types. There was also a 200- or 700-fold increase in survival after 2.5 h at 43°C by treatment with CHM in tsH1 or SC cell type respectively.

3. 3.|In contrast to the effects at 43°C, at 41.8°C these protective effects were not evident in tsH1 cells. In wild type, however, there was an 800- or 1800-fold increase in survival after 8 h at 41.8°C by preincubation at the temperature of 39.5°C or treatment with CHM, respectively.

4. 4.|Therefore, these results suggest that killing of tsH1 at low temperature hyperthermia (41.8°C) is probably due to denaturation of thermolabile leucyl-tRNA synthetase.

5. 5.|The denaturation of this enzyme may not be protected by inhibition of protein synthesis by preincubation at the nonpermissive temperature of 39.5°C or by CHM.