THERMOREGULATORY BEHAVIOR IN BRAZILIAN LIZARDS

Authors

  • Carlos Frederico D. Rocha Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Monique Van Sluys Davor Vrcibradic Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Mara Cíntia Kiefer Vanderlaine Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Amaral de Menezes Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Carla da da Costa Siqueira Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Keywords:

Body temperature, activity intensity, physiological process.

Abstract

Reptiles present one of the most complex mechanisms found within vertebrates to regulate body temperature. In lizards, this regulation
mechanism achieves a remarkable degree of refinement in which behavior plays a crucial role. The present review deals with a set of factors of thermoregulation in Brazilian lizards, illustrating it as the result of a physiological and behavioral process in lizards and discussing other factors such as the relationship between phylogeny and body temperature in activity, the environmental sources of heat, the costs of behaviors associated with thermoregulation, the complex relationships between body temperature, foraging intensity and diet, and the relationship between thermoregulation and some aspects of their life history such as degree of herbivory and reproductive condition. Based on various sources of information available on body temperature regulation by Brazilian lizards, we aimed at providing a comprehensive review on the subject of thermoregulatory behaviors in Brazilian lizards.

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Published

2009-12-06

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2009): Oecologia Brasiliensis - Ecologia do comportamento

Section

Articles