Navigation Links
Study: Lizards bask for more than warmth
Date:4/20/2009

Keeping warm isn't the only reason lizards and other cold-blooded critters bask in the sun. According to a study published in the May/June issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, chameleons alter their sunbathing behavior based on their need for vitamin D.

"It's a longstanding assumption that thermoregulation is the only reason that lizards bask," says Kristopher Karsten, a biologist at Texas Christian University who led the study. "Our results suggest that in addition to thermoregulation, vitamin D regulation appears to have a significant impact on basking behavior as well."

Chameleons, like humans and most other vertebrates, get vitamin D in two ways: They can absorb it from food, and they can produce it in their skin. In order to produce vitamin D, however, the skin must be exposed to UV radiation.

To test whether chameleons alter their sunning behavior based on dietary vitamin D intake, Karsten observed the behavior of two different groups of chameleons. One group had high internal vitamin D levels, thanks to a diet of crickets dusted with a vitamin D powder. The other group ate regular crickets and had low vitamin D. The chameleons were then placed in individual outdoor enclosures that offered open area for direct sun, and a tree to offer filtered sun and shade.

Chameleons generally move from sun to shade throughout the day. But Karsten found that chameleons fed the low vitamin D diet compensated by increasing their exposure to the sun's UV rays. Chameleons with high vitamin D diets, on the other hand, limited their UV exposure.

"It appears that panther chameleons have the ability to gauge their internal vitamin D levels and alter their basking behavior accordingly," Karsten says.

And they do it with remarkable accuracy.

"The chameleons were as effective as mathematically possible by our methods at regulating toward optimal UV exposure for their vitamin D profile," he says. "We t
'/>"/>

Contact: Kevin Stacey
kstacey@press.uchicago.edu
773-834-0386
University of Chicago Press Journals
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related medicine news :

1. National Physicians Study: Nearly One Third Would Choose Different Career Today
2. Ex-White House Drug Czar McCaffrey, U.S. Congress Drug Caucus Chair Cummings, CRC Health CEO Karlin Join Hopkins Researchers at News Conference April 17 on Breakthrough Study: Internet Video Drug Treatment as Effective as Traditional Counseling
3. Study: Every 1.7 minutes a Medicare beneficiary experiences a patient safety event
4. Study: Doctor-patient conversations at end of life associated with lower medical expenses
5. UCF study: Hyperactivity enables children with ADHD to stay alert
6. Newly Published Menopause Study: Bioidentical and FDA-Approved Divigel(R) (estradiol gel) 0.1 Percent Safe and Effective Treatment for Moderate to Severe Hot Flashes Associated With Menopause
7. Study: Genetic Risk for Substance Use Can be Neutralized by Good Parenting
8. Study: Genetic risk for substance use can be neutralized by good parenting
9. Pediatrics study: Involve adolescents in end-of-life medical decisions
10. U-M Study: 19% of Breast Cancer Patients Dont Receive Recommended Radiation After Mastectomy
11. New Study: Protein in the Morning Helps Dieters Stay on Track and Keep Weight Off
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/19/2013)... 2013 The legal team at Pulaski ... a concerted effort to connect women and families coping ... drugs Yaz, Yasmin & Ocella with the legal representation ... on the notorious birth control drugs as well as ... , Yaz, Yasmin & Ocella were very popular birth ...
(Date:5/18/2013)... (PRWEB) May 18, 2013 Daily Gossip issued ... a new review on their page. John Colston, Daily Gossip’s ... to Shaun Hadsall’s revolutionizing 14-Day Rapid Fat Loss Plan ... sustain that carbs are healthy at a time when nutritionists ... from highly caloric products. , The diet is based ...
(Date:5/18/2013)... Also known as bariatric surgery , ... surgery that guarantees patients long-term weight loss. Dr. Naim ... give readers a brief tutorial on this revolutionary weight ... New York City’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine. After ... fellowship in Minimally Invasive Bariatric Surgery. He has also ...
(Date:5/18/2013)... Children who swallow high-powered magnets often need surgery and ... a new study. The researchers, from the Louisiana ... more than 79 percent of children who swallowed very ... procedure, in which a tube containing a camera is ... these cases can be treated through observation or by ...
(Date:5/18/2013)... There are significant cost and risk factors ... or treat gastrointestinal problems, according to research presented ... study by New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill-Cornell ... substantially reduce the cost and risk of managing ... to affect nearly 25 percent of adults, researchers ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Yazsideeffects.com Connects Yaz Side Effects Sufferers With Yaz Side Effects Lawyers 2Health News:Everything You Need to Know About Lap Band Surgery 2Health News:Everything You Need to Know About Lap Band Surgery 3Health News:Swallowing Magnets Can Be Fatal for Children 2Health News:New research identifies practice changes to improve value and quality of GI procedures 2
... , TUESDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) -- For some ... of the disease who find standard treatments either intolerable ... relief. A new injectable treatment called pegloticase (brand ... patients, but researchers say that for the roughly ...
... Pneumonia kills more children around the world than any ... the causes of childhood pneumonia across many countries was ... study called the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health ... 5 African and 2 Asian research sites coordinated by ...
... was a dramatic increase in the number of children,s flu-related hospital ... agency says. Over that time, flu rose from 65th to ... younger go to the hospital, according to a report from the ... found that skin infections rose from 13th to 7th in the ...
... Foundation launched a major new collaboration created with ... with its announcement that it will provide funding ... interventional radiology during 2012󈝹 in the Howard Hughes ... "The SIR Foundation, which seeks to further ...
... new study has shown the Flexible-Fiber CO2 laser to ... (TSC) without the,line of sight problems encountered with conventional ... Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine ... Neurosurgery . This is the first study to report ...
... for 15 minutes a day, or 92 minutes per week, ... who are inactive, according to a study published today in ... reduced deaths from any cause by 14 percent," said study ... The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Department of ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:New Drug May Relieve Severe, Tough-to-Treat Gout 2Health News:New Drug May Relieve Severe, Tough-to-Treat Gout 3Health News:New Drug May Relieve Severe, Tough-to-Treat Gout 4Health News:Largest global childhood pneumonia etiology study launched 2Health News:Largest global childhood pneumonia etiology study launched 3Health News:Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation funds Howard Hughes Medical Institute Award 2Health News:Study finds flexible-fiber CO2 laser safe in endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery 2Health News:Study finds 15 minutes of moderate daily exercise lengthens life 2Health News:Study finds 15 minutes of moderate daily exercise lengthens life 3
(Date:5/17/2013)... Research explores data on ... also   to   be presented ... the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that it will ... American Psychiatric Association (APA) 166th Annual Meeting in ... being presented represent Shire,s ongoing commitment to the clinical ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... , May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- The ... recombinant proteins, is placing renewed emphasis on alternate ... rise as a number of factors are converging ... pharmaceutical makers and their delivery device partners . ... refractory conditions, the growing trend toward self-administration for ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... , May 17, 2013  Boehringer Ingelheim ... respiratory disease at the American Thoracic Society International ... , May 17 – 22. ... approved for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary ... as well as investigational compounds for asthma, idiopathic ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 2Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 3Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 4Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 5Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 6Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 7Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 8Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 9Shire to Present Scientific Data Across a Range of Psychiatric Disorders at American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 10Pharmaceutical Makers and Delivery Device Partners Rethink Delivery Technologies - New Report Examines this Evolving Segment 2Pharmaceutical Makers and Delivery Device Partners Rethink Delivery Technologies - New Report Examines this Evolving Segment 3Boehringer Ingelheim to Present 17 Abstracts at the Annual American Thoracic Society International Conference 2Boehringer Ingelheim to Present 17 Abstracts at the Annual American Thoracic Society International Conference 3Boehringer Ingelheim to Present 17 Abstracts at the Annual American Thoracic Society International Conference 4Boehringer Ingelheim to Present 17 Abstracts at the Annual American Thoracic Society International Conference 5Boehringer Ingelheim to Present 17 Abstracts at the Annual American Thoracic Society International Conference 6Boehringer Ingelheim to Present 17 Abstracts at the Annual American Thoracic Society International Conference 7Boehringer Ingelheim to Present 17 Abstracts at the Annual American Thoracic Society International Conference 8
... As part of a three-year global initiative to identify ... problems around the world, Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka,s Changemakers® ... Health: Achieving Individual, Family, and Community Well-Being ... the most innovative models and solutions that are transforming ...
... Ascension Orthopedics, Inc., a world leader in PyroCarbon orthopedic ... Glenoid. The Mini Glenoid is yet another addition to the ... way to address glenoid arthritis. "The Mini ... the glenoid as well as load-share with the peripheral glenoid ...
Cached Medicine Technology:Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka's Changemakers Launch "Making More Health" Competition 2Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka's Changemakers Launch "Making More Health" Competition 3Ascension Orthopedics Announces Market Release of TITAN™ Inset Mini Glenoid 2
... national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader ... offers an extensive test menu of highly ... and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University ... than half of the nation's university teaching ...
... national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader ... offers an extensive test menu of highly ... and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University ... than half of the nation's university teaching ...
... ARUP Laboratories is a national reference laboratory ... research and development. ARUP offers an extensive ... medical tests in clinical and anatomic pathology. ... Laboratories' clients include more than half of ...
... national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader ... offers an extensive test menu of highly ... and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University ... than half of the nation's university teaching ...
Medicine Products: