Abstract
1.Researchers commonly rely on indices of heat tolerance to infer the limits of performance in nature. Unfortunately, many methods are used to estimate heat tolerance, creating difficulties when synthesizing or comparing results among studies. Here, we relate several measures of heat tolerance based on the concept of a performance curve.2.To evaluate our ideas about the link between two measures of heat tolerance, we measured knockdown times and knockdown temperatures of terrestrial isopods (Porcellio scaber). We fit a linear model relating knockdown time to environmental temperature; this model was used to predict the knockdown temperature (i.e., the temperature at which the knockdown time equaled zero).3.Our model predicted a knockdown temperature within 0.1 °C of the observed value. This result reinforces the possibility of conceptually unifying several measures of thermal physiology.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 320-323 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Thermal Biology |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2008 |
Funding
We would like to thank Ray Huey for constructive comments that improved our manuscript. This research was supported by grants from the Lilly Endowment, Indiana State University's Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the University Research Committee, the Stanley Foundation and the National Science Foundation (IOS 0616344).
| Funder number |
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| IOS 0616344 |
Keywords
- Critical thermal maximum
- Heat tolerance
- Knockdown temperature
- Knockdown time
- Temperature
- Thermal performance curve