Meeting Abstract

P3-39  Sunday, Jan. 6 15:30 – 17:30  Thermal Sensitivity of Burst Swimming in Salamanders KELSAY, TS*; SEIN, IH; DEBAN, SM; University of South Florida; University of South Florida; University of South Florida tkelsay@mail.usf.edu

In many biological systems, escape response affects the predator/prey dynamic. For animals in which burst speed is essential for survival, time to peak velocity is paramount. However, environmental temperature affects performance of many organismal movements. Muscle-powered movement is especially thermally sensitive in ectothermic tetrapods; therefore, acceleration of salamanders to peak velocity is expected to be significantly affected by temperature changes. Previous studies have shown, however, that some salamander species show surprisingly low thermal dependence of swimming velocity (Q₁₀ ~ 1.0-1.6). We imaged several genera of salamanders swimming in a temperature-controlled basin at 7 and 17°C (±1°C) and measured time to peak velocity, peak velocity, average acceleration, as well as the frequency and amplitude of the traveling body wave. In general, thermal sensitivity of swimming acceleration and velocity were lower than that of limbed locomotion in ectothermic tetrapods that have been examined, confirming earlier studies. Frequency and amplitude of the traveling wave were significantly different across temperatures. Investigating the energetics, fluid flow and motor control of swimming would yield insight into the interestingly low temperature sensitivity that salamanders exhibit while swimming.