Amphibians in freshwater
- actively sequester ions via gills and skin
Amphibians in brackish water
- most amphibians would dehydrate in ocean water
How do spadefoots survive by being underground for 9 months a year
Cutaneous drinking
Salamander grooves and annuli
- grooves and wrinkles on ventrum draw water from a wet surface up onto animal through capillary action
Water gains
Water loss
Ammonotelic
-in aquatic env
Ureotelic
-in moist terrestrial env
Uricotelic
-in arid env
Aestivation
-dormancy and cocoon formation of dead epidermis or encapsulating dried mucous
Biogeography
-past and present distribution of animals
What is preformed water
-water that is derived from dietary components like starch, fat, protein
Metabolic rate in reptiles and amphibians
-generally low
O2 consumption rate in herps
-10-20% of similarly sized endothermic animals
Why do herps require much less energy overall
-lower resting rates and not at active temps much of the time
rank the metabolic rate of anurans, salamanders, and reptiles
salamanders < anurans < reptiles
-carnivores > herbivores
benefits of lower energy requirements
Less oxygen required allows….
- iguanas can escape predators by jumping into water and staying submerged for more than 30 min
red or dark meat
-muscles that rely primarily on oxidative respiration
Aerobic pathway: Cellular respiration/Oxidative metabolism
Anaerobic: glycosis
Variation in aerobic scope
What is the aerobic scope
-the difference between resting and peak metabolic rates