Conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals
Pinnipeds (true seals, sea lions and walruses) inhabit two thermally different environments, air and water, so need to make continuous adjustments to maintain a balanced body temperature. The thermal isolation properties of thick blubber keep warmth within the body's core, ideal for mammals whi...
Published in: | Conservation Physiology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Oxford University Press
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_79723 https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/696099f0-e9b0-46b7-b32b-ff6e5f414df2/download https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa141 |
id |
ftunswworks:oai:unsworks.library.unsw.edu.au:1959.4/unsworks_79723 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunswworks:oai:unsworks.library.unsw.edu.au:1959.4/unsworks_79723 2024-05-19T07:39:44+00:00 Conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals Guerrero, AI Rogers, TL Sepúlveda, M Cooke, Steven 2021-01-23 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_79723 https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/696099f0-e9b0-46b7-b32b-ff6e5f414df2/download https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa141 unknown Oxford University Press http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_79723 https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/696099f0-e9b0-46b7-b32b-ff6e5f414df2/download https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa141 open access https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ free_to_read © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press and the Society for Experimental Biology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. urn:ISSN:2051-1434 Conservation Physiology, 9, 1, coaa141 7 Affordable and Clean Energy Heat dissipation marine mammal moult pinniped thermography thermoregulation anzsrc-for: 05 Environmental Sciences anzsrc-for: 06 Biological Sciences journal article http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 2021 ftunswworks https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa141 2024-04-24T01:01:27Z Pinnipeds (true seals, sea lions and walruses) inhabit two thermally different environments, air and water, so need to make continuous adjustments to maintain a balanced body temperature. The thermal isolation properties of thick blubber keep warmth within the body's core, ideal for mammals while in the water; however, when on land, this thick blubber makes it difficult to lose heat. Some pinnipeds use thermal windows, discrete patches where temperature changes on their body surface, as a mechanism to dissipate excessive heat. We identify the factors that correlate with the appearance of thermal windows and changes in body surface temperature on southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina, while they are hauled out ashore. Infrared thermography was used to measure surface temperature of the seals. Temperature was lower on the torso than the flippers and head, suggesting that not all body sites have the same role in thermal balance. Air temperature was the main driver of variation in the surface temperature of the seals' flippers and head; seals cool their superficial tissues when the air temperature is below ~ 2°C. This minimizes heat loss by reducing the thermal gradient between their skin and the ambient air. Wind speed was the main predictor of whether thermal windows appear on a seals' body surface. When wind speed was minimal, thermal windows occurred more often, which may be associated with either hair and skin drying, or producing thermal conditions for hair and skin regrowth. The type of aggregation (huddled or alone) influenced the surface temperature of the fore flippers; however, we did not find statistical influence of the seal's sex, state of moult, or the substrate on which they were hauled out (kelp or sand). Understanding how animals maintain their thermal balance is important if we are to predict how they will respond to future climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals walrus* UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales): UNSWorks Conservation Physiology 9 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales): UNSWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftunswworks |
language |
unknown |
topic |
7 Affordable and Clean Energy Heat dissipation marine mammal moult pinniped thermography thermoregulation anzsrc-for: 05 Environmental Sciences anzsrc-for: 06 Biological Sciences |
spellingShingle |
7 Affordable and Clean Energy Heat dissipation marine mammal moult pinniped thermography thermoregulation anzsrc-for: 05 Environmental Sciences anzsrc-for: 06 Biological Sciences Guerrero, AI Rogers, TL Sepúlveda, M Conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals |
topic_facet |
7 Affordable and Clean Energy Heat dissipation marine mammal moult pinniped thermography thermoregulation anzsrc-for: 05 Environmental Sciences anzsrc-for: 06 Biological Sciences |
description |
Pinnipeds (true seals, sea lions and walruses) inhabit two thermally different environments, air and water, so need to make continuous adjustments to maintain a balanced body temperature. The thermal isolation properties of thick blubber keep warmth within the body's core, ideal for mammals while in the water; however, when on land, this thick blubber makes it difficult to lose heat. Some pinnipeds use thermal windows, discrete patches where temperature changes on their body surface, as a mechanism to dissipate excessive heat. We identify the factors that correlate with the appearance of thermal windows and changes in body surface temperature on southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina, while they are hauled out ashore. Infrared thermography was used to measure surface temperature of the seals. Temperature was lower on the torso than the flippers and head, suggesting that not all body sites have the same role in thermal balance. Air temperature was the main driver of variation in the surface temperature of the seals' flippers and head; seals cool their superficial tissues when the air temperature is below ~ 2°C. This minimizes heat loss by reducing the thermal gradient between their skin and the ambient air. Wind speed was the main predictor of whether thermal windows appear on a seals' body surface. When wind speed was minimal, thermal windows occurred more often, which may be associated with either hair and skin drying, or producing thermal conditions for hair and skin regrowth. The type of aggregation (huddled or alone) influenced the surface temperature of the fore flippers; however, we did not find statistical influence of the seal's sex, state of moult, or the substrate on which they were hauled out (kelp or sand). Understanding how animals maintain their thermal balance is important if we are to predict how they will respond to future climate change. |
author2 |
Cooke, Steven |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Guerrero, AI Rogers, TL Sepúlveda, M |
author_facet |
Guerrero, AI Rogers, TL Sepúlveda, M |
author_sort |
Guerrero, AI |
title |
Conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals |
title_short |
Conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals |
title_full |
Conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals |
title_fullStr |
Conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals |
title_full_unstemmed |
Conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals |
title_sort |
conditions influencing the appearance of thermal windows and the distribution of surface temperature in hauled-out southern elephant seals |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_79723 https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/696099f0-e9b0-46b7-b32b-ff6e5f414df2/download https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa141 |
genre |
Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals walrus* |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals walrus* |
op_source |
urn:ISSN:2051-1434 Conservation Physiology, 9, 1, coaa141 |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_79723 https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/696099f0-e9b0-46b7-b32b-ff6e5f414df2/download https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa141 |
op_rights |
open access https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ free_to_read © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press and the Society for Experimental Biology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa141 |
container_title |
Conservation Physiology |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1799479309687062528 |