TY - JOUR
T1 - Tree-frog thermoregulation modelling: the role of reflection spectra
AU - Dickinson, Mark
AU - Herrerias-Azcue, Francisco
AU - Blount, Christopher
AU - Gray, Andrew
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - The near infra-red reflection peak in some frogs has been speculated to be either for enhancing crypticity, or to help them with thermoregulation. The theoretical background for the thermoregulatory processes has been established before, but little consideration has been given to the contribution from the frogs’ reflection spectra differences. In this investigation, the reflection spectra from a range of different species of frogs were taken and combined with precise surface area measurements of frogs and an approximation to the mass transfer coefficient of agar frog models. They were then used to simulate the temperature and water evaporation in anurans with and without the near infra-red reflective peak. A simulator for the thermoregulatory processes was programmed in MATLAB and is presented as a graphical user interface, made available for general use. The significance of the equilibrium temperature differences between frogs with and without the near infra-red reflection peak is discussed in a realistic and an extreme scenario. Temperature differences of no more than 3.2 °C were found, and the rehydration period was increased by at most 16.7 %, which does not reduce the number of rehydration events between dawn and dusk.
AB - The near infra-red reflection peak in some frogs has been speculated to be either for enhancing crypticity, or to help them with thermoregulation. The theoretical background for the thermoregulatory processes has been established before, but little consideration has been given to the contribution from the frogs’ reflection spectra differences. In this investigation, the reflection spectra from a range of different species of frogs were taken and combined with precise surface area measurements of frogs and an approximation to the mass transfer coefficient of agar frog models. They were then used to simulate the temperature and water evaporation in anurans with and without the near infra-red reflective peak. A simulator for the thermoregulatory processes was programmed in MATLAB and is presented as a graphical user interface, made available for general use. The significance of the equilibrium temperature differences between frogs with and without the near infra-red reflection peak is discussed in a realistic and an extreme scenario. Temperature differences of no more than 3.2 °C were found, and the rehydration period was increased by at most 16.7 %, which does not reduce the number of rehydration events between dawn and dusk.
M3 - Article
SN - 1544-9173
JO - P L o S Biology (Print)
JF - P L o S Biology (Print)
ER -