The effects of experimental variables (wind speed, fluid type, animal restraint, etc.) on the thermal time constant are analyzed. Results suggest that insufficient attention paid to these variables has resulted in equivocal results. A model is proposed that could normalize some of these variables and provide a better basis for the theoretical interpretation of reptile thermal ecology. Modelled literature data indicate that: (1) very small reptiles (20 g or less) are able to control their rates of heat exchange; (2) aquatic reptiles probably have the same ability to thermoregulate as terrestrial reptiles; (3) variations in the reported thermal time constants of turtles might reflect changes in surface area; (4) changes in humidity (without condensation) will not affect Tau; (5) constant or variable metabolic rates cannot account for differences between heating and cooling thermal time constants; (6) constant or variable metabolic rates are not likely to lead to the evolution of homeothermy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.60515 |
| Date | January 1991 |
| Creators | Maine, Carol |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Biology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001255272, proquestno: AAIMM72081, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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