Evaluation of daily and seasonal locomotor and nociceptive activities of lizards under controled environmental conditions

• Grant number: 14/19765-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: December 01, 2014
• End date: November 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Adriano Bonfim Carregaro
• Grantee: Shayne Pedrozo Bisetto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Reptiles are ectothermic animals, which means that they depend on enviromental temperature for thermoregulation. Thus, these individuals are subjected to broad variations in body temperature throughout the day and the year, and consequently they present broad variations in metabolic activity and behavior. The aim of this study is to evaluate daily and annual fluctuations in locomotor and nociceptive activities shown by two lizard species, the Tegu (Salvator merianae) and the green Iguana (Iguana iguana), when mantained under controlled environmental conditions: temperature gradient between 27 (room temperature) and 40°C (under incandescent light), and fixed photoperiod of 12 hours (photophase from 6:00 to 18:00). These will be evaluated for locomotor activity and response to nociceptive stimulus throughout the day (0:00, 6:00, 12:00, 18:00) and the year (monthly evaluation). The locomotor activity will be assessed through open field test, in which each animal will be positioned in the centre of a circular arena, and the number of crossings through its subdivisions will be counted; and the response to nociceptive stimulus will be assessed through thermal stimulus with maximum duration of 32 seconds, and temperature ranging between 45 and 47°C on the plantar surface of the limb. It is expected that this study allows the identification of patterns in daily and annual metabolic fluctuations in tegus and green iguanas, to better use these animals as experimental models in the search for knowledge in reptile medicine. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

BISETTO, Shayne Pedrozo. Evaluation of daily and seasonal locomotor and nociceptive activities of lizards under controled environmental conditions. 2016. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Zootecnica e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZE/BT) Pirassununga.