Meeting Abstract
The integument of animals requires regular turnover to replace damaged cells, reduce ectoparasite burdens, and facilitate growth. However, the physiological processes underlying ecdysis (skin shedding) may be energetically demanding, and shed skin may have high energetic costs of replacement (e.g., over 10% of ingested energy is allocated to skin lost during ecdysis in some snakes). Equivocal evidence suggests that some snakes may mitigate these energetic costs by selecting lower body temperatures during ecdysis. Yet, some critical physiological processes, such as digestion, are accompanied by thermophily. This potential thermoregulatory / energetic conflict may be exacerbated in juveniles given the high energetic demands of growth. Thus, we examined the independent and interactive effects of ecdysis and digestion on temperature preference and metabolic rate (rate of oxygen consumption) in the juvenile corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus). Our results provide insight into how young animals balance multiple physiological processes.
