Vertebrates reptiles

Vertebrates Reptiles and amphibians Study skins, mounted specimens (taxidermy), whole or partial skeletons, wet-preserved animals or parts Tortoise shell, teeth, skin... 

Unchanged p,p -DDT tends to be lost only very slowly by land vertebrates. There can, however, be a certain amount of excretion by females into milk or across the placenta into the developing embryo (mammals) or into eggs (birds, reptiles, and insects). 

Fig. 2.3(a) Variations in vertebrate oro-nasal duct systems early Reptile — X Amphibia — 1 Squamates — 2 Lower and Higher Mammals — 3a and b (modified after Bertmar, 1981). 

The vertebrates show many morpho-functional variants on a basic theme (Chap. 2). Some of these, such as the pattern of distribution of the genetically distinct chemosensory neurones within die VN epithelium, will be related to the level of complexity of the animal. In some groups, the VNO can be equally complex, whilst the accessory areas of the brain will differ in complexity, as in the advanced reptiles and mammals. Eventually, detailed comparisons of the genomic repertoire of the various accessory systems should reveal the extent of the operational distinctions amongst them. Of particular interest would be the events which account for the suppression of AOS morphogenesis, and those which compensate for its absence. 

Andres K. (1970). Anatomy and ultrastructure of the olfactory bulb in fish, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals. In Taste and Smell in Vertebrates (Wolstenholme G. and Knight J., eds.). J A Churchill, London, pp. 177-193. 

Burghardt G. (1980). Behavioral and stimulus correlates of vomeronasal functioning in reptiles feeding, grouping, sex and tongue use. In Chemical Signals Vertebrates and Aquatic Invertebrates 1 (Miiller-Schwarze D. and Silverstein R.M., eds.). Plenum, New York, pp. 275-302. 

A total of 58 dead vertebrate animals (birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals) were found on the first block, 39 on the second block, and 50 from the reference site. Authors concluded that risk to wildlife is low (Mortenson et al. 1999)... 

Madison, D. M. (1977). Chemical communication in amphibians and reptiles. In Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, vol. 1, ed. D. Muller-Schwarze and M. M. Mozell, pp. 135-168. New York Plenum. 

Ammonia (NH3) is a relatively strong base, and at physiological pH values it is mainly present in the form of the ammonium ion NH4 (see p. 30). NH3 and NH4 are toxic, and at higher concentrations cause brain damage in particular. Ammonia therefore has to be effectively inactivated and excreted. This can be carried out in various ways. Aquatic animals can excrete NH4 directly. For example, fish excrete NH4 via the gills (ammonotelic animals). Terrestrial vertebrates, including humans, hardly excrete any NH3, and instead, most ammonia is converted into urea before excretion ureotelic animals). Birds and reptiles, by contrast, form uric acid, which is mainly excreted as a solid in order to save water uricotelic animals). 

Luther et al. (1996) conducted a systematic study of the occurrence of the simple lattice and superlattice across the vertebrate kingdom. Superlattices are present in the muscles of all the higher vertebrates, namely, in mammals (including humans), in amphibians, in birds, in reptiles, and in some muscles of cartilaginous fish. Simple lattices occur in all the teleost (bony fish) muscles so far studied, in some muscles of cartilaginous fish, and also in some primitive fish such as sturgeons and bowfin. 

Many fundamental concepts in modem biology have been established through studies on aquatic organisms. Fish are of special interest to research workers, because some of their metabolic features characterized early vertebrates. Fish have also evolved numerous adaptations, which have permitted them not only to survive but also to thrive in recent times. The range of structural and functional adaptations and metabolic flexibility, combined with individual specializations, has resulted in an immense diversity of fish - more than 20 000 species - which greatly exceeds that of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. As the final link in many food chains, fish can be reliable indicators of the condition of complex ecosystems. Studies on fish provide an understanding of the pathways of metabolic substances and of energy transformations in bodies... 

The life cycle of Plasmodium requires two vectors for completion. The definitive hosts are female mosquitoes from the genus Anopheles. Anophelesgambiae and Anopheles funestus are two such definitive hosts in the African Region, while Anopheles darlingi transmits malaria in South and Central America (6-8). The second host is a vertebrate that may be a bird, reptile, or small mammal. The malaria species listed above are all able to utilize humans as a vertebrate host. 

Figure 7.3 illustrates values of /ceat for orthologs of A4-LDH from vertebrates adapted to temperatures between — 1.86°C (Antarctic notothenioid fishes) and approximately 37 42°C (mammal, birds, and a thermophilic reptile) (Fields and Somero, 1998). All kalt values... 

The analysis that follows begins with a consideration of the proximate causes of systemic endothermy, an issue that can be approached by asking, How does an ectothermic vertebrate like a reptile differ from a mammal in terms of mechanisms for supporting endother-... 

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