Logo image
Regional endothermy in the sea turtle, Chelonia mydas
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Regional endothermy in the sea turtle, Chelonia mydas

Edward A. Standora, James R. Spotila and Robert E. Foley
Journal of thermal biology, v 7(3), pp 159-165
01 Jan 1982

Abstract

biotelemetry Chelonia mydas regional endothermy sea turtles thermoregulation
1. 1.|The green turtle, Chelonia mydas, exhibits a unique combination of thermoregulatory adaptations. Temperature data obtained by mutlichannel telemetry indicate that it is a regional endotherm. 2. 2.|A turtle swimming vigorously had a body temperature (pectoral region) of 37.1°C in water at 29.1°C. Inactive adults are 1–2°C above water temperatures. 3. 3.|Temperatures telemetered from other parts of the body of swimming turtles and temperatures of resting individuals suggest that only the active tissues, and not the entire body, are at an elevated temperature. 4. 4.|Heat is retained in the active tissues due to large body size and insulatory properties of the shell. 5. 5.|Warm pectoral muscles (7°C above water temprature) probably increase this turtle's swimming ability and may facilitate its long-distance migrations.

Metrics

10 Record Views
57 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#15 Life on Land
#13 Climate Action

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Biology
Zoology
Logo image