ANDERSON, N.J.; Idaho State Univ.: Multitasking: How a tortoise manages multiple constraints on body temperature regulation.

In ectotherms, body temperature is known to influence a variety of behavioral and physiological processes. Many studies have found that ectothermic vertebrates may spend much of their time regulating their body temperature in order to optimize the rates of select physiological processes. However, there are a variety of factors, which may take precedence over strict body temperature regulation. Examples of potential constraints include weather patterns, habitat structure, water balance, foraging, predator avoidance and social interaction. While these factors are widely acknowledged as possible constraints, relatively few studies have focused on how free-living ectotherms balance multiple potential constraints with body temperature regulation. Toward that end, my study focused on how factors such as weather patterns, habitat structure and sociality affected body temperature regulation in the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), a large, terrestrial ectothermic vertebrate.