| Thermoregulation
in Hypoxia |
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The
primary and pervasive question in my laboratory is geared
toward understanding how and why animals lower body
temperature in hypoxia. Ectotherms are extremely useful
models to explore this question, since they regulate
body temperature behaviourally. The body temperature
of endotherms, on the other hand, is regulated physiologically.
Changes in body temperature of endotherms could have
a pathological (i.e. failure of thermogenesis) rather
than regulatory (i.e. neural set-point) basis. Thus,
by examining behavioural thermoregulation in ectotherms,
we are able to make inferences about the body's central
thermostat.
We are examining this question primarily in bearded
dragons (see right), though we have examined hypoxia-induced
changes in thermoregulation in toads, frogs, squirrels,
and fish. |
Publications
Tattersall, G. J. and Gerlach, R. M. 2005. Hypoxia progressively
lowers thermal gaping thresholds in bearded dragons, Pogona
vitticeps. Journal
of Experimental Biology 208:3321-3330.
Branco, L. G. S.,
Steiner, A. A., Tattersall, G. J., and Wood, S. C. 2000.
Role of adenosine in the hypoxia-induced hypothermia
in toads.
American Journal of Physiology. 279: R196-R201. 
Tattersall, G. J. and Milsom, W. K. 2009. Hypoxia reduces the hypothalamic thermogenic threshold and thermosensitivity. Journal Physiology-London. 587: 5259-5274. link
Levesque, D. L. and Tattersall, G. J. 2009. Seasonal changes in thermoregulatory responses to hypoxia in the Eastern
chipmunk (Tamias striatus). Journal
of Experimental Biology. 212: 1801-1810. Link
here.
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