Feeding causes thermophily in the woodhouse's toad (Bufo woodhousii)

摘要

(1) We placed 12 toads (Bufo woodhousii) in linear thermal gradients with floor temperatures ranging from 10 to 10 degreesC and monitored body temperatures (T-b's) With chromega-alomega thermocouples interfaced with a datalogger. (2) We measured T-b's at 10 min intervals over a 24 h period in toads that had eaten an equivalent of 5% of their body mass or had fasted for 5 days. (3) The mean 24h T-b did not differ significantly between the fed and fasted groups. (4) Hourly mean T-b's of fed toads differed significantly over the 24 h, but those of fasted toads did not. Fed toads selected highest T-b's during late afternoon and evening.