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

Autor(es)

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

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[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

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY; v. 249, NOV 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

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)

• Processo FAPESP: 12/15697-4 - Influência de parâmetros climáticos e ecofisiológicos na distribuição de serpentes do gênero Bothrops
• Beneficiário: Rodrigo Samuel Bueno Gavira
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 18/05839-2 - Anuros da Floresta Atlântica: Incorporando informações ecofisiológicas na avaliação de padrões de ocupação de habitat, contemporâneos e futuros
• Beneficiário: Denis Otavio Vieira de Andrade
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Exterior - Pesquisa
• Processo FAPESP: 13/04190-9 - Fisiologia termal e balanço de água em anfíbios anuros ao longo de um gradiente altitudinal da Floresta Atlântica
• Beneficiário: Denis Otavio Vieira de Andrade
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular