Meeting Abstract
47.4 Saturday, Jan. 5 Postprandial energy expenditure in the lizard Anolis carolinensis PETERSON, C. C.*; KOZAKIEWICZ, E.; Hofstra University; The College of New Jersey BioCCP@hofstra.edu
Specific Dynamic Action (SDA), the increased metabolic rate in postprandial animals, is a phenomenon of perennial interest and an important component of the energy budget of ectotherms. Among squamates, most recent work has examined animals specialized for eating large meals, such as snakes and varanid lizards; much less is known about SDA among small, insectivorous lizards. We measured Standard Metabolic Rate (SMR) and SDA in the model organism Anolis carolinensis through hourly 15-min measurements of oxygen consumption spanning several days before and after a meal, and characterized the effects of meal type (mealworms vs. crickets), meal size, and body size on postprandial energy expenditure. We could measure an SDA effect from even the smallest meals, and SDA (mL O2) increased in direct proportion to meal size. SDA following mealworm meals was greater than for cricket meals of the same mass. No additional variance in SDA was explained by lizard body size over the range 1.5�5.5 g. We discuss our results in an ecological context and compare the efficacy of alternative methods for calculating SMR and SDA from serial measurements.
