Behavioural thermoregulation in Rana pipiens tadpoles

Abstract

1. 1.|The mean preferred temperature (final preferendum) of Rana pipiens tadpoles in an electronic thermoregulatory shuttlebox was 27.9°C. 2. 2.|The daytime modal preferendum was 28°C, while the nocturnal mode was 27°C; mean preferenda did not differ significantly between night (28.1°C) and day (27.8°C). 3. 3.|The tadpoles exhibited a bimodal pattern of preferred temperature with equal nocturnal and diurnal peaks (28.8°C), and minima at the transition from scotophase to photophase (27.1°C) and from photophase to scotophase (27.4°C); our data do not indicate whether this pattern is an endogenously controlled rhythm.