Feeding alters the preferred body temperature of Cururu toads, Rhinella diptycha (Anura, Bufonidae)

Author(s)

Clemente, Amanda C. ^[1] ; Senzano, Luis M. ^[1] ; Gavira, Rodrigo S. B. ^[2] ; Andrade, V, Denis

Affiliation

^[1] V, Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[2] Ctr Etud Biol Chize CNRS CEBC, Lab Ecophysiol, Villiers Em Bois - France

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY; v. 249, NOV 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Ectothermic organisms depend primarily on external heat sources and behavioural adjustments to regulate body temperature. Under controlled conditions, in a thermal gradient, body temperature often clusters around a more or less defined range of preferred body temperatures (T-pref). However, T-pref may be modified in response to environmental parameters and/or physiological state. For example, meal ingestion is sometimes followed by a post-prandial thermophilic response leading to a transient increment in T-pref. Although thought to optimize digestive processes, its occurrence, magnitude, and possible determinants remains scarcely documented for anuran amphibians. Herein, we investigated whether the Cururu toad, Rhinella diptycha, exhibits a post-prandial thermophilic response by monitoring the body temperature of fasting and fed toads while they were maintained in a thermal gradient. We found that the toads' T-pref increased by about 13% from day 2 to 4 after feeding, in comparison with the T-pref recorded under fasting. Also, fed animals exhibited a broader range for T-pref at days 2 and 3 post-prandial, which reflects a greater level of locomotor activity compared to fasting individuals. We conclude that R. diptycha is capable to exhibit a post-prandial thermophilic response under the controlled conditions of a thermal gradient. Although this thermoregulatory adjustment is thought to optimize meal digestion yielding important energetic and ecological benefits, its occurrence in anuran amphibians in nature remains uncertain. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/15697-4 - Influence of climatic and ecophysiological parameters in the distribution of snakes of the genusBothrops
• Grantee: Rodrigo Samuel Bueno Gavira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/05839-2 - Anurans of the Atlantic Forest: incorporating ecophysiological information to evaluate contemporary patterns of habitat occupancy and forecast for a warmer future
• Grantee: Denis Otavio Vieira de Andrade
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• FAPESP's process: 13/04190-9 - Thermal physiology and water balance in anurans along an altitudinal gradient in the Atlantic Rainforest
• Grantee: Denis Otavio Vieira de Andrade
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants