Reptiles can often experience perturbations that greatly influence their metabolic status (e.g., temperature, exercise, digestion, and ontogeny). The most common cause of fluctuations in metabolic status in post-embryonic reptiles is arguably digestion and physical activity (which will be further referred to as exercise). The objective of this thesis is to determine the mechanisms involved in CO2 transport during digestion, determine the mechanisms that allow for the maintenance of acid-base homeostasis during digestion, and observing the effect of an understudied form of exercise in semi-aquatic reptiles on the regulation of metabolic acidosis and base deficit. This dissertation provided evidence for potentially novel and under investigated mechanisms for acid-base homeostasis (e.g., small intestine and tissue buffering capacity; Chapters 3 & 4), while also debunking a proposed hypothesis for the function of an anatomical feature that still remains a mystery to comparative physiologist (Chapter 2). This thesis is far from systematic and exhaustive in its approach, however, the work accomplished in this dissertation has become the foundation for multiple distinct paths for ecologically relevant investigations of the regulation of metabolic acidosis/alkalosis in reptiles.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1873816 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Conner, Justin Lawrence |
| Contributors | Wang, Tobias, Brauner, Colin, Dzialowski, Ed, Burggren, Warren, Roberts, Aaron, Crossley, Dane |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | xi, 90 pages, Text |
| Rights | Public, Conner, Justin Lawrence, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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