Temperature selection by juvenile tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) is not influenced by temperatures experienced as embryos |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand;2. Research Office, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, Private Bag 31914, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand;1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156 83111, Iran;2. Foolad Institute of Technology, Fooladshahr, Isfahan 84916 63763, Iran;1. Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi 214081, Jiangsu, China;2. Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China;1. Department of Biology and Wildlife, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA;2. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA;1. Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India;2. Department of Applied Mathematics and Humanities, S. V. National Institute of Technology, Surat, India;3. Patanjali Research Foundation, Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, India |
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| Abstract: | Most reptiles thermoregulate to achieve body temperatures needed for biological processes, such as digestion and growth. Temperatures experienced during embryogenesis may also influence post-hatching growth rate, potentially through influencing post-hatching choice of temperatures. We investigated in laboratory settings whether embryonic temperatures (constant 18 °C, 21 °C and 22 °C) influence selected body temperatures (Tsel) of juvenile tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), providing a possible mechanism for differences in growth rates. We found that incubation temperature does not influence Tsel. Although the average daily mean Tsel was 21.6 ± 0.3 °C, we recorded individual Tsel values up to 33.5 °C in juvenile tuatara, which is higher than expected and above the panting threshold of 31–33 °C reported for adults. We found diel patterns of Tsel of juvenile tuatara, observing a general pattern of two apparent peaks and troughs per day, with Tsel being significantly lower around dawn and at 1500 h than any other time. When comparing our results with other studies on tuatara there is a remarkable consistency in mean Tsel of ~ 21 °C across tuatara of different ages, sizes and acclimatization histories. The ability of juvenile tuatara to withstand a wide range of temperatures supports their former widespread distribution throughout New Zealand and warrants further investigation into their plasticity to withstand climate warming, particularly where they have choices of habitat and the ability to thermoregulate. |
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| Keywords: | Body temperature Circadian Growth Selected temperature Thermoregulation |
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