The rehydration behavior of the desert toad, Bufo punctatus

The red spotted toads, (Bufo punctatus), demonstrate a "water absorption response" (WR) in which they aduct the hindlimbs and press the ventral skin to a moist surface. Associated with the WR, toads showed three characteristic behaviors: (a) moves, in which the toads would systematically move to adjacent regions of the moist surface to optimize water gain; (b) settles, in which a toad would laterally oscillate its body to maximize contact area when showing the WR; and (c) kicks, in which toads would rub adherent particles from the skin with the hind feet; Measurements of the capacitance of the ventral skin, in vitro, indicate that the seat patch has a greater surface area than that of the pectoral region. The increase of surface area indicated by the capacitance values is due to the folding, evaginations, and tubercules of the skin. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

1989

Author dc:creator

• Brekke, Dona Rae

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stanley D. Hillyard

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/65

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-1064