Temperature regulation during acute heat loads in rats after short-term heat exposure.

Eleven rats were kept at an ambient temperature of 33.5 degrees C (HC) for 4-5 consecutive days, 9 additional rats were subjected to 33.5 degrees C for approximately 5 h daily (HI) for the same period, and 12 controls (Cn) were kept at 24 degrees C. After the exposure, the rats were placed in a direct calorimeter, where the wall temperature was set at 24 degrees C, and subjected to direct internal heating (6.2 W.kg-1, 30 min) through an intraperitoneal electric heater. After the first heat load and when thermal equilibrium had been attained again, the rats were subjected to indirect external warming by raising the jacket water temperature surrounding the calorimeter from 24.0 to 38.8 degrees C in 90 min. Hypothalamic (Thy) and colonic temperatures (Tco), evaporative and nonevaporative heat loss, and metabolic heat production (M) before the acute heat loads did not differ among the groups. During heat loads, the latent times for the onsets of the rises in tail skin temperature and evaporation were significantly longer, and Thy and Tco at the start of increases in heat losses tended to be higher, in the HC than in the Cn. M significantly decreased in all groups, but the magnitude and duration of reduction in M were significantly greater in the HC than in the Cn. There were no differences between the thermoregulatory responses to heat loads of the HI and Cn. These results suggest that in HC the threshold core temperature for heat loss response and the upper critical temperature have already shifted to a higher level and that HC respond to heat stress more strongly with the reduction of M than Cn. Short-term intermittent heat exposure had little effect on the thermoregulatory mechanisms in rats.     

Thermoregulatory responses to acute body heating in rats acclimated to continuous heat exposure

Thermoregulatory responses to an acute heat load with intraperitoneal heating (IH) or indirect external warming (EW) by increasing ambient temperature (Ta) were investigated with direct and indirect calorimetry in rats acclimated to environments of 24.0 degrees C (Cn), 29.4 degrees C (H1), and 32.8 degrees C (H2) for greater than 15 days. The rats were placed in a direct calorimeter where the air temperature was maintained at 24 degrees C for the initial 3 h. IH was then made for 30 min through an electric heater implanted chronically (6.5 W.kg-1) in the peritoneal cavity, and EW was performed by raising the jacket water temperature surrounding the calorimeter from 24 to 39 degrees C (0.19 degrees C.min-1). Hypothalamic (Thy) and colonic temperature immediately before the start of the heat load tended to be higher as the acclimation temperature increased. During IH, the threshold Thy for the tail skin vasodilation (Tth) was significantly higher in H2 than in Cn rats. During EW, however, there was no difference in Tth between the groups. Metabolic heat production (M) was slightly suppressed during IH and significantly depressed only in H2 rats. During EW, M was suppressed in all the groups. The magnitude and duration of suppression were greater in H2 rats than in the other two groups. The responses in nonevaporative heat loss and thermal conductance (C) to the rise in Thy did not differ among the three groups during IH. According to the rise in Thy, however, there was a greater C increase in H2 than in Cn and H1 rats during EW.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Bat thermoregulation in the heat: Limits to evaporative cooling capacity in three southern African bats

High environmental temperatures pose significant physiological challenges related to energy and water balance for small endotherms. Although there is a growing literature on the effect of high temperatures on birds, comparable data are scarcer for bats. Those data that do exist suggest that roost microsite may predict tolerance of high air temperatures. To examine this possibility further, we quantified the upper limits to heat tolerance and evaporative cooling capacity in three southern African bat species inhabiting the same hot environment but using different roost types (crevice, foliage or cave). We used flow-through respirometry and compared heat tolerance limits (highest air temperature (T_a) tolerated before the onset of severe hyperthermia), body temperature (T_b), evaporative water loss, metabolic rate, and maximum cooling capacity (i.e., evaporative heat loss/metabolic heat production). Heat tolerance limits for the two bats roosting in more exposed sites, Taphozous mauritianus (foliage-roosting) and Eptesicus hottentotus (crevice-roosting), were T_a = ~44 °C and those individuals defended maximum T_b between 41 °C and 43 °C. The heat tolerance limit for the bat roosting in a more buffered site, Rousettus aegyptiacus (cave-roosting), was T_a = ~38 °C with a corresponding T_b of ~38 °C. These interspecific differences, together with a similar trend for higher evaporative cooling efficiency in species occupying warmer roost microsites, add further support to the notion that ecological factors like roost choice may have profound influences on physiological traits related to thermoregulation.     

Day-night variation of thermoregulatory responses to intraperitoneal electric heating in rats

1. 1.Hypothalamic temperature (T_hy), nonevaporative heat loss (R + C + K), evaporative heat loss (E), thermal conductance (k), metabolic heat production (M) and heat storage (S) of rats were simultaneously measured by direct and indirect calorimetry during internal heat loading (2 W per rat) with an intraperitoneal electric heater.

2. 2.The tests were made twice a day; once during the day (1000–1200 h) and once at night (2200–2400 h) at an ambient temperature of 24°C.

3. 3.The resting values of T_hy, colonic temperature, (R + C + K), E, M and heart rate, and the T_hy threshold for tail skin vasodilation (T_th) during internal heat load were significantly higher at night than during the day.

4. 4.The slopes showing the relationshiop between (R + C + K), k or M and T_hy were significantly steeper during the day than at night after T_hy exceeded T_th.

5. 5.The slopes showing the relationship between E or S and T_hy were not different during the day and at night.

6. 6.These results indicate that the responses of nonevaporative heat loss and heat production to internal heat load vary with the time of day in rats.

Evaporative heat loss in Bos taurus: Do different cattle breeds cope with heat stress in the same way?

The aim of this study was to compare two Portuguese (Alentejana and Mertolenga) and two exotic (Frisian and Limousine) cattle breeds in terms of the relationship between the increase in ambient temperature and the responses of the evaporative heat loss pathways and the effects on homeothermy. In the experiment, six heifers of the Alentejana, Frisian, and Mertolenga breeds and four heifers of the Limousine breed were used. The animals were placed in four temperature levels, the first one under thermoneutral conditions and the other ones with increase levels of thermal stress. When submitted to severe heat stress, the Frisian developed high thermal tachypnea (125 mov/min) and moderate sweating rates (117 g m⁻² h⁻¹), which did not prevent an increase in the rectal temperature (from 38.4 °C to 40.0 °C). Moderate increases in rectal temperature were observed in the Alentejana (from 38.8 °C to 39.4 °C) and Limousine (from 38.6 °C to 39.4 °C), especially in the period of highest heat stress. The Limousine showed moderate levels of tachypnea (101 mov/min) while showing the lowest sweating rates. The Alentejana showed significant increases in sweating rate (156 g m⁻² h⁻¹) that played a major role in homeothermy. The Mertolenga showed a superior stability of body temperature, even in the period of highest heat stress (from 38.5 °C to 39.1 °C). Uncommonly, the maintenance of homeothermy during moderate heat stress was achieved primarily by intense tachypnea (122 mov/min). The sweating rate remained abnormally low under conditions of moderate heat stress, rising significantly (110 g m⁻² h⁻¹) without evidence of stabilization, only when tendency for heat storage occurred. This unusual response of the evaporative heat loss pathways infers a different thermoregulatory strategy, suggesting a different adaptation to semi-arid environment and strong association with water metabolism.     

Heat loss responses in rats acclimated to heat loaded intermittently

The present study examined the heat loss response of heat-acclimated rats to direct body heating with an intraperitoneal heater or to indirect warming by elevating the ambient temperature (Ta). The heat acclimation of the rats was attained through exposure to Ta of 33 or 36 degrees C for 5 h daily during 15 consecutive days. Control rats were kept at Ta of 24 degrees C for the same acclimation period. Heat acclimation lowered the body core temperature at Ta of 24 degrees C, and the core temperature level was lowered as acclimation temperature increased. When heat was applied by direct body heating, the threshold hypothalamic temperature (Thy) for the tail skin vasodilation was also lower in heat-acclimated rats than in the control rats. However, the amount of increase in Thy from the resting level to the threshold was the same in all three groups. When heat was applied by indirect warming, threshold Thy was slightly higher in heat-acclimated than in control rats. The amount of increase in Thy from the resting level to the threshold was significantly greater in heat-acclimated rats. In addition, Ta and the skin temperature at the onset of skin vasodilation were significantly higher in heat-acclimated rats. The results indicate that heat-acclimated rats were less sensitive to the increase in skin temperature in terms of threshold Thy. The gain constant of nonevaporative heat loss response was assessed by plotting total thermal conductance against Thy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Thermal equilibrium of goats

The effects of air temperature and relative humidity on thermal equilibrium of goats in a tropical region was evaluated. Nine non-pregnant Anglo Nubian nanny goats were used in the study. An indirect calorimeter was designed and developed to measure oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, methane production and water vapour pressure of the air exhaled from goats. Physiological parameters: rectal temperature, skin temperature, hair-coat temperature, expired air temperature and respiratory rate and volume as well as environmental parameters: air temperature, relative humidity and mean radiant temperature were measured. The results show that respiratory and volume rates and latent heat loss did not change significantly for air temperature between 22 and 26 °C. In this temperature range, metabolic heat was lost mainly by convection and long-wave radiation. For temperature greater than 30 °C, the goats maintained thermal equilibrium mainly by evaporative heat loss. At the higher air temperature, the respiratory and ventilation rates as well as body temperatures were significantly elevated. It can be concluded that for Anglo Nubian goats, the upper limit of air temperature for comfort is around 26 °C when the goats are protected from direct solar radiation.     

Role of hydrogen peroxide in generation of a signal inducing heat tolerance of wheat seedlings

The effects of 1-min-long exposure to 42°C (hardening heating) on heat tolerance and dynamics of ROS (superoxide anion radical and hydrogen peroxide) generation were investigated in the wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Elegiya) seedlings. During the initial 5–30 min after the onset of hyperthermia, ROS generation by roots and shoots was intensified, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was activated. During the first hour after hardening heating, the seedling tolerance to injurious 10-min-long treatment with high temperature (46°C) decreased but subsequently it gradually rose, reaching maximum in 24 h. Transient accumulation of hydrogen peroxide induced by hardening was suppressed by seedling treatment with H₂O₂ scavenger dimethylthiourea, by inhibitors of NADPH-oxidase (imidazole) and DDC (sodium diethyldithiocarbamate). These compounds considerably reduced favorable effect of hardening on seedling heat tolerance. It was concluded that generation of a signal inducing the development of heat tolerance depended on NADPH-oxidase producing superoxide anion radical and SOD that transforms it into hydrogen peroxide (more stable ROS performing signaling functions).     

Gross mismatch between thermal tolerances and environmental temperatures in a tropical freshwater snail: Climate warming and evolutionary implications

The relationship between acute thermal tolerance and habitat temperature in ectotherm animals informs about their thermal adaptation and is used to assess thermal safety margins and sensitivity to climate warming. We studied this relationship in an equatorial freshwater snail (Clea nigricans), belonging to a predominantly marine gastropod lineage (Neogastropoda, Buccinidae). We found that tolerance of heating and cooling exceeded average daily maximum and minimum temperatures, by roughly 20 °C in each case. Because habitat temperature is generally assumed to be the main selective factor acting on the fundamental thermal niche, the discordance between thermal tolerance and environmental temperature implies trait conservation following ‘in situ’ environmental change, or following novel colonisation of a thermally less-variable habitat. Whereas heat tolerance could relate to an historical association with the thermally variable and extreme marine intertidal fringe zone, cold tolerance could associate with either an ancestral life at higher latitudes, or represent adaptation to cooler, higher-altitudinal, tropical lotic systems. The broad upper thermal safety margin (difference between heat tolerance and maximum environmental temperature) observed in this snail is grossly incompatible with the very narrow safety margins typically found in most terrestrial tropical ectotherms (insects and lizards), and hence with the emerging prediction that tropical ectotherms, are especially vulnerable to environmental warming. A more comprehensive understanding of climatic vulnerability of animal ectotherms thus requires greater consideration of taxonomic diversity, ecological transition and evolutionary history.     

Regulation mode of evaporative cooling underlying a strategy of the heat-tolerant FOK rat for enduring ambient heat

Compared with other rat strains, the inbred FOK rat is extremely heat tolerant. This increased heat tolerance is due largely to the animal's enhanced saliva spreading abilities. The aims of the present study were to 1) quantify the heat tolerance capacity of FOK rats and 2) determine the regulatory mode of the enhanced salivary cooling in these animals. Various strains of rats were acutely exposed to heat. In the heat-intolerant strains, saliva spreading was insufficient and the core temperature (Tc) rose rapidly. In contrast, FOK rats maintained an elevated Tc plateau (39.5 +/- 0.7 degrees C) for 5-6 h over a wide range of ambient temperatures (Ta) (37.5-42.5 degrees C). In hot environments the FOK rats secreted copious amounts of saliva and spread it over more than the entire ventral body surface. FOK rats had a low Tc threshold for salivation, and the salivation rate increased linearly in proportion to the Tc deviation from the threshold. No strain difference or temperature effect was observed in the saliva secretion rate from in vitro submandibular glands perfused by sufficient doses of ACh. These results suggest that 1) the ability of FOK rats to maintain a moderate steady-state hyperthermia (39.5 +/- 0.7 degrees C) over a wide Ta range is enabled by a lowered threshold Tc for salivation and functional negative-feedback control of saliva secretion and 2) strain differences in ability to endure heat stress are mainly attributable to changes in the thermoregulatory control system rather than altered secretory abilities of the salivary glands.     

High temperature tolerance and thermal plasticity in emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis

• 1 The emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) (EAB), an invasive wood‐boring beetle, has recently caused significant losses of native ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees in North America. Movement of wood products has facilitated EAB spread, and heat sanitation of wooden materials according to International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) is used to prevent this.
• 2 In the present study, we assessed the thermal conditions experienced during a typical heat‐treatment at a facility using protocols for pallet wood treatment under policy PI‐07, as implemented in Canada. The basal high temperature tolerance of EAB larvae and pupae was determined, and the observed heating rates were used to investigate whether the heat shock response and expression of heat shock proteins occurred in fourth‐instar larvae.
• 3 The temperature regime during heat treatment greatly exceeded the ISPM 15 requirements of 56 °C for 30 min. Emerald ash borer larvae were highly tolerant of elevated temperatures, with some instars surviving exposure to 53 °C without any heat pre‐treatments. High temperature survival was increased by either slow warming or pre‐exposure to elevated temperatures and a recovery regime that was accompanied by up‐regulated hsp70 expression under some of these conditions.
• 4 Because EAB is highly heat tolerant and exhibits a fully functional heat shock response, we conclude that greater survival than measured in vitro is possible under industry treatment conditions (with the larvae still embedded in the wood). We propose that the phenotypic plasticity of EAB may lead to high temperature tolerance very close to conditions experienced in an ISPM 15 standard treatment.

     

Response of mice to continuous 5-day passive hyperthermia resembles human heat acclimation

Chronic repeated exposure to hyperthermia in humans results in heat acclimation (HA), an adaptive process that is attained in humans by repeated exposure to hyperthermia and is characterized by improved heat elimination and increased exercise capacity, and acquired thermal tolerance (ATT), a cellular response characterized by increased baseline heat shock protein (HSP) expression and blunting of the acute increase in HSP expression stimulated by re-exposure to thermal stress. Epidemiologic studies in military personnel operating in hot environments and elite athletes suggest that repeated exposure to hyperthermia may also exert long-term health effects. Animal models demonstrate that coincident exposure to mild hyperthermia or prior exposure to severe hyperthermia can profoundly affect the course of experimental infection and injury, but these models do not represent HA. In this study, we demonstrate that CD-1 mice continuously exposed to mild hyperthermia (ambient temperature ~37°C causing ~2°C increase in core temperature) for 5 days and then exposed to a thermal stress (42°C ambient temperature for 40 min) exhibited some of the salient features of human HA, including (1) slower warming during thermal stress and more rapid cooling during recovery and (2) increased activity during thermal stress, as well as some of the features of ATT, including (1) increased baseline expression of HSP72 and HSP90 in lung, heart, spleen, liver, and brain; and (2) blunted incremental increase in HSP72 expression following acute thermal stress. This study suggests that continuous 5-day exposure of CD-1 mice to mild hyperthermia induces a state that resembles the physiologic and cellular responses of human HA. This model may be useful for analyzing the molecular mechanisms of HA and its consequences on host responsiveness to subsequent stresses.     

CHROMOSOMAL ANALYSIS OF HEAT-SHOCK TOLERANCE IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER EVOLVING AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES IN THE LABORATORY

We investigated the heat tolerance of adults of three replicated lines of Drosophila melanogaster that have been evolving independently by laboratory natural selection for 15 yr at “nonextreme” temperatures (18°C, 25°C, or 28°C). These lines are known to have diverged in body size and in the thermal dependence of several life-history traits. Here we show that they differ also in tolerance of extreme high temperature as well as in induced thermotolerance (“heat hardening”). For example, the 28°C flies had the highest probability of surviving a heat shock, whereas the 18°C flies generally had the lowest probability. A short heat pretreatment increased the heat tolerance of the 18°C and 25°C lines, and the threshold temperature necessary to induce thermotolerance was lower for the 18°C line than for the 25°C line. However, neither heat pretreatment nor acclimation to different temperatures influenced heat tolerance of the 28°C line, suggesting the loss of capacity for induced thermotolerance and for acclimation. Thus, patterns of tolerance of extreme heat, of acclimation, and of induced thermotolerance have evolved as correlated responses to natural selection at nonextreme temperatures. A genetic analysis of heat tolerance of a representative replicate population each from the 18°C and 28°C lines indicates that chromosomes 1, 2, and 3 have significant effects on heat tolerance. However, the cytoplasm has little influence, contrary to findings in an earlier study of other stocks that had been evolving for 7 yr at 14°C versus 25°C. Because genes for heat stress proteins (hsps) are concentrated on chromosome 3, the potential role of hsps in the heat tolerance and of induced thermotolerance in these naturally selected lines is currently unclear. In any case, species of Drosophila possess considerable genetic variation in thermal sensitivity and thus have the potential to evolve rapidly in response to climate change; but predicting that response may be difficult.     

Thermal acclimation capacity of Jack Beardsley mealybug (Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi) to survive in a warming world

The study of thermal tolerance and acclimation capacity in Jack Beardsley mealybug, Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi Gimpel and Miller is the crucial step in determining their abilities to cope with climate change. Thus, the aim of this research was to determine the effects of acclimation temperatures on the changes in thermal tolerance of P. jackbeardsleyi. The influences of acclimation temperature at moderate (25?°C) and high (35?°C) temperatures on their lower and upper thermal limits were measured composed of critical thermal minimum (CT_min), maximum (CT_max), chill coma temperature (CCT) and heat coma temperature (HCT) for first instar nymphs and adults. The important information derived from this study revealed that the upper thermal limits of adults are constrained to a relative narrow range that will make them sensitive to relative small changes in temperatures, whilst all mean upper thermal indices at 35?°C were significantly higher than at 25?°C for nymphs. For this highlight notice, nymphs have more potential to change their upper thermal limits which will allow them to withstand high temperatures in the field. These results are a sign to warn us that P. jackbeardsleyi could become highly noxious which cause severe outbreaks damage to the crops in the tropics under global warming.     

Thermal limits of leaf metabolism across biomes

High‐temperature tolerance in plants is important in a warming world, with extreme heat waves predicted to increase in frequency and duration, potentially leading to lethal heating of leaves. Global patterns of high‐temperature tolerance are documented in animals, but generally not in plants, limiting our ability to assess risks associated with climate warming. To assess whether there are global patterns in high‐temperature tolerance of leaf metabolism, we quantified T_crit (high temperature where minimal chlorophyll a fluorescence rises rapidly and thus photosystem II is disrupted) and T_max (temperature where leaf respiration in darkness is maximal, beyond which respiratory function rapidly declines) in upper canopy leaves of 218 plant species spanning seven biomes. Mean site‐based T_crit values ranged from 41.5 °C in the Alaskan arctic to 50.8 °C in lowland tropical rainforests of Peruvian Amazon. For T_max, the equivalent values were 51.0 and 60.6 °C in the Arctic and Amazon, respectively. T_crit and T_max followed similar biogeographic patterns, increasing linearly (?8 °C) from polar to equatorial regions. Such increases in high‐temperature tolerance are much less than expected based on the 20 °C span in high‐temperature extremes across the globe. Moreover, with only modest high‐temperature tolerance despite high summer temperature extremes, species in mid‐latitude (~20–50°) regions have the narrowest thermal safety margins in upper canopy leaves; these regions are at the greatest risk of damage due to extreme heat‐wave events, especially under conditions when leaf temperatures are further elevated by a lack of transpirational cooling. Using predicted heat‐wave events for 2050 and accounting for possible thermal acclimation of T_crit and T_max, we also found that these safety margins could shrink in a warmer world, as rising temperatures are likely to exceed thermal tolerance limits. Thus, increasing numbers of species in many biomes may be at risk as heat‐wave events become more severe with climate change.     

Deep body and surface temperature responses to hot and cold environments in the zebra finch

Global warming increasingly challenges thermoregulation in endothermic animals, particularly in hot and dry environments where low water availability and high temperature increase the risk of hyperthermia. In birds, un-feathered body parts such as the head and bill work as ‘thermal windows’, because heat flux is higher compared to more insulated body regions. We studied how such structures were used in different thermal environments, and if heat flux properties change with time in a given temperature. We acclimated zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to two different ambient temperatures, ‘cold’ (5 °C) and ‘hot’ (35 °C), and measured the response in core body temperature using a thermometer, and head surface temperature using thermal imaging. Birds in the hot treatment had 10.3 °C higher head temperature than those in the cold treatment. Thermal acclimation also resulted in heat storage in the hot group: core body temperature was 1.1 °C higher in the 35 °C group compared to the 5 °C group. Hence, the thermal gradient from core to shell was 9.03 °C smaller in the hot treatment. Dry heat transfer rate from the head was significantly lower in the hot compared to the cold treatment after four weeks of thermal acclimation. This reflects constraints on changes to peripheral circulation and maximum body temperature. Heat dissipation capacity from the head region increased with acclimation time in the hot treatment, perhaps because angiogenesis was required to reach peak heat transfer rate. We have shown that zebra finches meet high environmental temperature by heat storage, which saves water and energy, and by peripheral vasodilation in the head, which facilitates dry heat loss. These responses will not exclude the need for evaporative cooling, but will lessen the amount of energy expend on body temperature reduction in hot environments.     

Changes in cell morphology and actin organization during heat shock in Dictyostelium discoideum: does HSP70 play a role in acquired thermotolerance?

In response to heat shock (34°C, 30 min), cell morphology and actin organization in Dictyostelium discoideum are drastically changed. Loss of pseudopodia and disappearance of F-actin-containing structures were observed by using fluorescence microscopy. These changes were paralleled by a rapid decrease of the F-actin content measured by a TRITC-phalloidin binding assay. The effects of heat shock on cell morphology and actin organization are transient: After heat shock (34°C) or during a long-term heat treatment (30°C), cell morphology, F-actin patterns and F-actin content recovered/adapted to a state which is characteristic for untreated cells. Because F-actin may be stabilized by increased amounts of heat shock proteins, their response and interaction with F-actin was analyzed. After a 1 h heat treatment (34°C), the major heat shock protein of D. discoideum (HSP70) showed maximally increased synthesis rates and levels. During recovery from a 34°C shock or during a continuous heat treatment at 30°C, the HSP70 content first increased and then declined slowly toward normal levels. Pre-treatment of cells with a short heat shock of 30 min at 34°C stabilized the F-actin content when the cells were exposed to a second heat shock. Furthermore, a transient colocalization of HSP70 and actin was observed at the beginning of heat treatment (30°C) using immunological detection of HSP70 in the cytoskeletal actin fraction.     

No dynamic effector responses to fast changes of core temperature at constant skin temperature

Experiments in conscious goats were done to see whether heat production and respiratory evaporative heat loss show dynamic responses to changing core temperature at constant skin temperature. Core temperature was altered by external heat exchangers acting on blood temperature, while skin temperature was maintained constant by immersing the animals up to the neck in a rapidly circulating water bath. Core temperature was altered at various rates up to 0.9 degrees C/min. Step deviations of core temperature from control values were always followed by a positive time derivative of effector response, but never by a negative time derivative during sustained displacement of core temperature. Ramp experiments showed that the slopes at which heat production or heat loss rose with core temperature deviating from its control level grew smaller at higher rates of change of core temperature. It is concluded that neither heat production nor respiratory evaporative heat loss respond to the rate of change of core temperature. At constant skin temperature, thermoregulatory effector responses appear to be proportional to the degree to which core temperature deviates from its set level.     

Responses of the bed bug,Cimex lectularius,to temperature extremes and dehydration: levels of tolerance,rapid cold hardening and expression of heat shock proteins

This study of the bed bug, Cimex lectularius, examines tolerance of adult females to extremes in temperature and loss of body water. Although the supercooling point (SCP) of the bed bugs was approximately −20°C, all were killed by a direct 1 h exposure to −16°C. Thus, this species cannot tolerate freezing and is killed at temperatures well above its SCP. Neither cold acclimation at 4°C for 2 weeks nor dehydration (15% loss of water content) enhanced cold tolerance. However, bed bugs have the capacity for rapid cold hardening, i.e. a 1‐h exposure to 0°C improved their subsequent tolerance of −14 and −16°C. In response to heat stress, fewer than 20% of the bugs survived a 1‐h exposure to 46°C, and nearly all were killed at 48°C. Dehydration, heat acclimation at 30°C for 2 weeks and rapid heat hardening at 37°C for 1 h all failed to improve heat tolerance. Expression of the mRNAs encoding two heat shock proteins (Hsps), Hsp70 and Hsp90, was elevated in response to heat stress, cold stress and during dehydration and rehydration. The response of Hsp90 was more pronounced than that of Hsp70 during dehydration and rehydration. Our results define the tolerance limits for bed bugs to these commonly encountered stresses of temperature and low humidity and indicate a role for Hsps in responding to these stresses.     

Influence of the water heating rate upon thermal tolerance in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) during different seasons

For the first time, the dependence of the upper lethal temperature (ULT) level upon the water heating rate was determined in young common carp (Cyprinus carpio) during different seasons and within the wide range of heating rates. The highest ULT values were revealed by using the chronic lethal impact method, with a water heating rate of 1°C/day (or 0.04°C/h). At such a rate, fish can successfully acclimate to a temperature increase. The ULT values determined by that method characterize the fish maximal thermal tolerance. During different seasons these values were differing from each other within a 3°C range. The data on the common carp ULT, along with data on crucian carp (Carassius auratus), evidences that this species belongs to the group of the most thermophilic fish, not only among cyprinids, but also compared to the representatives of other families. Obtained experimental data characterizing the upper thermal limits for fish vital functions may be used for the development of ecological safety criteria near the zones of discharge of heated waters from heating and nuclear power plants, as well as for the forecasting of the potential consequences of global warming.