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HOBOs, Tidbits and lizard models: the utility of electronic devices in field studies of ectotherm thermoregulation |
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| Authors: | L J Vitt & S S Sartorius |
| Institution: | Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072–7029, USA, and,;Department of Zoology and Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072–7029, USA |
| Abstract: | 1. A replicated experiment tested the null hypothesis that stand-alone electronic temperature recording devices produce sets of operative temperatures similar to those produced using lizard models. 2. Commercially available electronic temperature recording devices (HOBO XT™ with external probe and Tidbit™) produced sets of operative temperatures nearly identical to models designed to mimic the size, shape, scale architecture and colour of two species of common North American lizards. 3. Tidbits™ performed better than external probes. 4. These results suggest that electronic devices (especially Tidbits™) can be substituted for models in many applications and that size, morphology, scale architecture and colour contribute very little to temperature change in small-sized life-like models widely used in field-based studies on the thermal ecology of vertebrates. 5. Small differences between temperatures recorded by electronic devices and detailed lizard-shaped models fitted with thermal probes suggest that these models may nevertheless be necessary for certain kinds of studies. |
| Keywords: | Lizards temperature thermal ecology |