Automated measurement of upper thermal limits in small aquatic animals

ABSTRACT We present a method for automating the measurement of upper thermal limits in small aquatic organisms. Upper thermal limits are frequently defined by the cessation of movement at high temperature, with measurement being performed by manual observation. Consequently, estimates of upper thermal limits may be subject to error and bias, both within and among observers. Our method utilises video-based tracking software to record the movement of individuals when exposed to high, lethal temperatures. We develop an algorithm in the R computing language that can objectively identify the loss of locomotory function from tracking data. Using independent experimental data, we validate our approach by demonstrating the expected response in upper thermal limits to acclimation temperature. Summary: We present a method for the automated measurement of upper thermal tolerance in small aquatic organisms from video data.

• Publication year

  2018

• Venue

  Journal of Experimental Biology

• Publication date

  2018-09-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1242/jeb.182386PMID 30012577PMCID 6140313
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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