| Title | Heart rate and changes in body fluids in aestivating toads from xeric habitats |
| Publication Type | Book |
| Year of Publication | 1969 |
| Authors | Whitford WG |
| Series Editor | Hoff C.C, Riedesel M.L(eds.) |
| Series Title | Physiological Systems in Semiarid Environments |
| Number of Pages | 125-133 |
| Publisher | University of New Mexico Press |
| City | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Call Number | 00393 |
| Keywords | amphibian, aestivating toad, anuran, aestivation, anuran, metabolism, book, books, Bufo,physiology, chapter, chapters, metabolism, aestivating toad, physiology,anuran, report, reports, Scaphiopus,physiology |
| Abstract | Mayhew (1965) reported that in parts of California the spadefoot toad Scaphiopus couchi is forced to remain underground for more than 1 year. It is apparent that anurans inhabiting desert environments must have evolved some mechanisms to survive for extended periods of time in underground burrows. Some of the adaptations of the spadefoot toad S. couchi were studied by McClanahan (1967). He found that emerging S. couchi had high concentrations of urea in their body fluids and that water loss in dehydration was principally from interstitial fluids. My studies of burrowed desert anurans were designed to evaluate gross metabolic changes by monitoring heart rate and to observe changes in body fluids during aestivation. These studies should serve as the basis for further studies on the adaptive mechanisms of desert anurans. |
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Science-based management strategies for sustainability of agriculture and other land uses
