Visualizing Temperature: Physiology and Behaviour of Thermoregulation

可视化温度：体温调节的生理学和行为

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-05089
• 负责人: Tattersall, Glenn
• 金额: $ 4.01万
• 依托单位: Brock University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=744840
• 关键词: Visualizing; Temperature; Physiology; Behaviour; Thermoregulation

As a complex trait, animal thermal physiology involves the co-evolution of thermal sensation along with biochemical mechanisms of thermal tolerance. Therefore, ectothermic animals with different body temperatures should show functional differences in how they sense temperature. Understanding how organisms regulate their body temperature and use volitional thermal choices is important since it illustrates their potential to respond to changes in the environment. My laboratory takes an integrative approach to these questions, focusing primarily on vertebrate ectotherms (e.g., fish, reptiles) and studying conserved as well as their unique mechanisms that allow them to modify and regulate their internal body temperature. I employ the term "visualizing thermoregulation" as a focus for the next 5 years to demonstrate how we use behavioural physiology in addition to non-invasive imaging technologies in our research. The ultimate goal of my research program is to understand the thermoregulatory strategies that animals use to cope with environmental changes, and ultimately, to understand the how the body's `thermostat' has evolved. The objectives of the next five years of my proposed research will examine the 3 primary "drivers" (internal / central drivers, peripheral / sensory drivers, and the evolutionary and ecological drivers). The first objective will examine the control of Tb in animals by examining the physiological relevance of altered thermoregulatory states. This will involve experiments primarily in fish models we have developed (rivulus, zebrafish, round gobies), and the use of pharmacological blockade to decipher proposed pathways that play a role in behavioural thermoregulation. We will also focus on how the mangrove rivulus have adapted to their life on land, how they have adopted a novel thermoregulatory strategy hitherto unavailable to aquatic counterparts. The second objective will examine the peripheral mechanisms related to thermoregulation. We will examine mechanisms of warm and cold thermosensation and establish their roles in thermoregulatory behaviours through a comparative analysis of animals with different thermoregulatory preferences. We will continue our research into the trade-offs between water balance and thermoregulation in reptiles, by examining scaleless phenotypes of bearded dragons and the impact this has on thermal behaviour and water balance. The third objective will adapt our knowledge from the lab into field applications, especially in endangered or threatened species, so as to translate and apply our expertise to pertinent and urgent biological questions. We plan to incorporate non-invasive approaches to study peripheral vasomotion in the field in lizards and tortoises as part of a study examining thermoregulation in the field. This will involve the use of novel logging technology (NIRS) developed in diving seals to examine blood oxygenation changes in peripheral structures.

动物热生理是一种复杂的生理特性，涉及热感觉和热耐受生化机制的共同进化。因此，不同体温的变温动物应该在感知温度的方式上表现出功能上的差异。了解生物体如何调节体温，并利用自愿的热选择是很重要的，因为它说明了它们对环境变化做出反应的潜力。我的实验室采取综合的方法来解决这些问题，主要集中在脊椎动物变温动物（例如，鱼，爬行动物）和研究保守的以及他们独特的机制，使他们能够修改和调节他们的内部体温。我将“可视化体温调节”一词作为未来5年的重点，以展示我们如何在研究中使用行为生理学和非侵入性成像技术。我的研究项目的最终目标是了解动物用来应对环境变化的体温调节策略，并最终了解身体的“恒温器”是如何进化的。未来五年，我的研究目标将是研究三个主要的“驱动因素”（内部/中心驱动因素，外围/感官驱动因素，以及进化和生态驱动因素）。第一个目标将通过检查体温调节状态改变的生理相关性来检查结核病在动物中的控制。这将主要涉及我们开发的鱼类模型（河流，斑马鱼，圆虾虎鱼）的实验，并使用药物阻断来破译在行为体温调节中发挥作用的建议途径。我们还将关注红树林河流是如何适应陆地上的生活的，它们是如何采用一种迄今为止水生生物所没有的新的体温调节策略的。第二个目标将检查与体温调节有关的外周机制。我们将通过对具有不同体温调节偏好的动物进行比较分析，研究热感觉和冷感觉的机制，并确定它们在体温调节行为中的作用。我们将继续研究爬行动物的水平衡和体温调节之间的权衡，通过检查胡须龙的无鳞表型及其对热行为和水平衡的影响。第三个目标是将我们的实验室知识应用于实地，特别是濒危或受威胁物种，以便将我们的专业知识转化和应用于相关和紧迫的生物学问题。我们计划采用非侵入性方法来研究蜥蜴和乌龟的外周血管舒缩，作为研究该领域体温调节的一部分。这将涉及使用在潜水海豹中开发的新型测井技术（NIRS）来检查周围结构的血氧变化。