QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online June 15, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 2409-2419 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02257

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Denny, M. W. Articles by Harley, C. D. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Denny, M. W. Articles by Harley, C. D. G.

Hot limpets: predicting body temperature in a conductance-mediated thermal system

Mark W. Denny^1,* and Christopher D. G. Harley^1,2

¹ Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
² Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: mwdenny{at}stanford.edu)

Accepted 6 April 2006

Living at the interface between the marine and terrestrial environments, intertidal organisms may serve as a bellwether for environmental change and a test of our ability to predict its biological consequences. However, current models do not allow us to predict the body temperature of intertidal organisms whose heat budgets are strongly affected by conduction to and from the substratum. Here, we propose a simple heat-budget model of one such animal, the limpet Lottia gigantea, and test the model against measurements made in the field. Working solely from easily measured physical and meteorological inputs, the model predicts the daily maximal body temperatures of live limpets within a fraction of a degree, suggesting that it may be a useful tool for exploring the thermal biology of limpets and for predicting effects of climate change. The model can easily be adapted to predict the temperatures of chitons, acorn barnacles, keyhole limpets, and encrusting animals and plants.

Key words: heat-budget model, intertidal zone, thermal limits, limpet, Lottia gigantean, heat stress

Related articles in JEB:

FEELING THE HEAT

Yfke Hager
JEB 2006 209: 0. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Jost and B. Helmuth Morphological and Ecological Determinants of Body Temperature of Geukensia demissa, the Atlantic Ribbed Mussel, and Their Effects On Mussel Mortality Biol. Bull., October 1, 2007; 213(2): 141 - 151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. W. Denny, L. P. Miller, and C. D. G. Harley Thermal stress on intertidal limpets: long-term hindcasts and lethal limits J. Exp. Biol., July 1, 2006; 209(13): 2420 - 2431. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]