TITLE:
Thermal preference, tolerance and temperature-dependent respiration in the California sea hare Aplysia californica
AUTHORS:
Ana Denisse Re, Fernando Díaz, Alfredo Salas-Garza, Marco Gonzalez, Victor Cordero, Clara E. Galindo-Sanchez, Edna Sanchez-Castrejon, Adolfo Sánchez Zamora, Alexei Licea-Navarro
KEYWORDS:
Thermoregulatory Behavior; CTMax; Oxygen Consumption; Aplysia californica
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.4 No.6A,
June
28,
2013
ABSTRACT: The thermoregulatory behavior of sea hare Aplysia californica was determined in a horizontal thermal gradient; with a preferred temperature (PT) of 18.3°C for the day cycle and 20.8°C for the night cycle. The displacement velocity demonstrated an initial rate of 30 cm·hˉ1 and gradually the velocity diminished to 18 cm·hˉ1 with several fluctuations mainly at 02:00 am. Critical Temperature Maxima (CTMax refers to the temperature point where at least 50% of the experimental group have a loss of attachment) was measured at three acclimation temperatures (16°C, 19°C and 22°C). At the lowest acclimation temperature (16°C), 50% of the experimental group had an attachment loss at CTMax 32.7°C, and in a higher acclimation temperature (22°C) CTMax was 36.2°C. The Oxygen Consumption Rate (OCR) was closely correlated to acclimation temperature, and at 16°C and 19°C sea hare had a relatively stable metabolic rate, with OCR increasing to 9 mg O2 hˉ1·kgˉ1 w.w. in a higher acclimation temperature.