Journal of thermal biology最新文献

{"title":"Effects of acute high-temperature stress on respiratory metabolism, tissue structure, and glycolipid metabolism in subadult Procambarus clarkii","authors":"Chuang Liu ,&nbsp;Yunfei Sun ,&nbsp;Zhigang Yang ,&nbsp;Yongxu Cheng","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104427","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104427","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Procambarus clarkii</em>, widely farmed in rice-crayfish systems, is vulnerable to high-temperature stress during summer. This study aimed to investigate its physiological and metabolic responses to acute heat stress. Subadult crayfish (13.72 ± 1.91 g) were exposed to 33 °C for 96 h (21 °C as control), and samples of gill, hepatopancreas, and muscle tissues were collected at 6, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h. Histological changes were observed using paraffin sectioning, while metabolic enzyme activities, substrate levels, and lipid metabolism-related gene expression were analyzed. The 96-h upper incipient lethal temperature (UILT₅₀) was determined to be 34.5 °C. Elevated temperatures significantly increased oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion, and overall metabolic rate, although the oxygen-to-nitrogen ratio remained stable. After 96 h of heat exposure, gill tissues showed reduced hemocytes, distorted filaments, and epithelial damage. In the hepatopancreas, B cell numbers increased and lipid droplets in R cells decreased. Energy metabolism shifted over time: during early stress (0-48 h), glucose was the primary energy source, with glycolysis as the main pathway; during later stress (48-96 h), lipid catabolism became dominant. Adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), rather than hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), played a key role in lipid mobilization. These findings suggest that acute heat stress disrupts respiratory metabolism, damages key tissues, and drives a shift in energy strategy from carbohydrates to lipids in <em>P. clarkii</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104427"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146258552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of hot-dry and hot-humid seasons on the plasma cytokines, hormones, and body surface temperatures in lactating indigenous (Sahiwal) and crossbred (Karan Fries) cows raised in tropical climates","authors":"Manisha Choudhary ,&nbsp;Aarti Kamboj ,&nbsp;Pritam Pal ,&nbsp;Bagavathi M ,&nbsp;Animesh Patel ,&nbsp;Pankaj Suman ,&nbsp;Ajay Kumar Dang","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104405","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104405","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heat stress (HS) significantly challenges dairy cattle, affecting their immune function, endocrine responses, and thermoregulation. This study investigated cytokine responses, hormonal changes, and body surface temperature variations in 12 indigenous Sahiwal (SW) and 12 crossbred Karan Fries (KF) cows reared under hot-dry (HD; THI = 77.75) and hot-humid (HH; THI = 81.48) seasons. Plasma concentrations of Interleukin-6 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-1β (IL- 1β), cortisol, triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) were analysed using ELISA, while body surface temperatures were measured using infrared thermography (IRT). Significant (P &lt; 0.05) variations were observed between breeds and across the two seasons. Higher TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and cortisol levels were observed under HH compared to HD seasons. TNF-α levels increased significantly (P &lt; 0.05) by 31.76% in SW and 36.47% in KF cows, while cortisol levels rose by 44.41% and 47.42%, respectively, from the HD to HH season. In contrast, T3 and T4 levels declined significantly (P &lt; 0.05) by 25.60% and 36.42%, respectively, under HH seasons, with a greater reduction observed in KF cows. Body surface temperatures were significantly (P &lt; 0.05) higher in KF cows across all measured regions, with eye temperature exhibiting a strong correlation with TNF-α (r = 0.88, P &lt; 0.01) and cortisol (r = 0.78, P &lt; 0.01). These findings highlighted the heightened susceptibility of crossbred cows to HS and also provided important new insights into some stress indicators in native and crossbred cows, which could be integrated into farming systems under hot conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104405"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146165649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pathogens may have assisted the evolution of endothermy by restricting its reversibility","authors":"Shahar Dubiner","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104385","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104385","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Endothermy is an important trait in the biology of several (extant and extinct) groups of amniotes. Despite its distinct benefits, it is an extremely expensive trait, and the drivers for its emergence and evolutionary success are debated. I offer a hypothesis complementary to current theories, linking endotherms’ capacity for thermogenesis with the need to increase body temperature during pathogen infection (“fever”, present in both endotherms and ectotherms). I do not propose this as a primary driver of endothermy; rather, the emergence of efficient fever prevented the secondary loss of endothermy. After endothermy has evolved in a given lineage, the stabler host temperature, coupled with higher direct transmission due to incubation and parental care, would lead to the propagation and specialization of pathogens in the population. Hence, although ectothermy carries no inherent disadvantage, reverting from endothermy to ectothermy faces the obstacle of an already-high pathogen load. Reduced heat production would increase the gap from normal to fever temperature, impairing the reliability of the response and increasing its cost, when pathogen load in the population is already higher and more specialized as enabled by endothermy. This factor may be enough to outweigh selective pressures against the energetic cost of endothermy. This hypothesis, though anecdotally supported by the intriguing fact that endothermy is very rarely lost (and is often retained even when homeothermy is not), is merely a conceptual framework and must be tested further.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104385"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The influence of cold temperature exposure on markers of bone health in humans: A scoping review","authors":"R. Allan ,&nbsp;H.T. Hurst ,&nbsp;B. Akin ,&nbsp;N. Liles ,&nbsp;J. Dickson ,&nbsp;J. Knill-Jones ,&nbsp;J. Sinclair ,&nbsp;S. Dillon ,&nbsp;S.J. Hesketh ,&nbsp;C. Mawhinney","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104401","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104401","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Studies of cold-dwelling humans show lower bone mineral density (BMD) and greater age-related bone loss. While cold exposure is regularly used for analgesic purposes, prolonged use may unintentionally exacerbate symptoms it aims to treat.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To evaluate human evidence on the effects of cold exposure upon markers of bone health.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. OVID (MEDLINE, EMBASE), Elsevier (ScienceDirect, Scopus), and PubMED databases were searched using the terms (“Cold temperature” OR “cryotherapy” OR “Hydrotherapy” OR “Cold stress”) AND (“Bone Matrix” OR “Bone mineral density” OR “bone formation” OR “bone remodelling” OR Osteogenesis). Inclusion criteria were: (1) cold exposure or application in humans; (2) measurement of bone health or turnover markers; and (3) original research or case reports.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Searches resulted in 2372 articles, yielding a final pool of 13 articles for inclusion after screening. Several cooling methods were used, predominantly cold air (n = 6), cooling vests (n = 4), sleeping in cold rooms (n = 1), β3 agonist coupled with cooling pads (n = 1) and ice water swimming (n = 3). Markers of bone health were assessed, with BMD shown to increase following cryotherapy, and having a positive correlation with brown adipose tissue. Papers returned suggest a neutral or positive response in factors that enhance osteoblast differentiation (irisin, insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1], meteorin-like protein [METRNL]), which fails to translate directly into improved bone formation (procollagen 1 N-terminal propeptide [P1NP], osteocalcin).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Cold exposure might dampen bone resorption mechanisms (beta isomerised C terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen [β-CTX]) but not others (receptor activator of nuclear factor <em>κ</em> B [RANK], RANK ligand [RANKL], interleukin-6 [IL-6]). Hormonal markers of bone remodelling (thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH], parathyroid hormone [PTH], triiodothyronine [T3]) also showed contrasting effects. As such, the limited data does not allow for clear conclusions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104401"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146078899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oxygen uptake in two temporary pond ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda) in response to different temperatures and salt contents: testing the Metabolic Cold Adaptation hypothesis","authors":"Julio Cruz-Vila ,&nbsp;Alexandre Mestre ,&nbsp;Lucía Villarroya-Villalba ,&nbsp;Alex Martínez ,&nbsp;Francesc Mesquita-Joanes","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104414","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104414","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Temporary ponds experience wide variation in their physical and chemical conditions, including changes in temperature and salinity, two critical factors strongly affecting aquatic life metabolism. Although ostracods are common in these habitats, little is known on the combined effects of temperature and salt content on their metabolic rates. Here, we compared the oxygen consumption rates of two cosmopolitan ostracods common in temporary ponds: <em>Eucypris virens</em>, which mostly grows dense populations during winter-spring in temperate climates, and <em>Heterocypris incongruens</em>, mostly considered a spring-summer inhabitant in the same habitats. We performed respirometry experiments combining five different temperatures (5-25 °C) and six salinities (0.1-10 PSU), and quantified their combined effects on mass-specific oxygen consumption rates of both species. According to the Metabolic Cold Adaptation (MCA) hypothesis, we expected differences in metabolic rate associated with their different phenologies, with the winter species showing a higher rate at the same temperature. We observed significant effects of temperature and salinity with no interaction between them on the oxygen consumption rates of both species, and confirmed that the winter species had higher energetic demands at all the temperatures tested, as predicted by MCA. Furthermore, significant interaction effects between species and salinity were consistent with their different salinity tolerances. These results provide support for MCA in ostracods and call for further experimental work with a wider range of conditions to better evaluate variation in ostracod metabolic responses at more extreme values of salinity and temperature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104414"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146202096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Magnetic fluid hyperthermia for different breast categories: Effect of nanoparticle distribution patterns and temperature-dependent perfusion models on thermal transport","authors":"Pratik Roy ,&nbsp;Ranjan Ganguly ,&nbsp;Nirmalendu Biswas","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104417","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104417","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) offers a targeted means of thermally degrading malignant tissue by impregnating superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPMNPs) within a tumor and exciting them with an alternating magnetic field. Although numerical modeling has been attempted before to guide MFH treatment optimization, systematic studies jointly integrating specific tissue categories, clinically realistic nanoparticle distributions, and dynamic perfusion evolution remain absent from the literature, leaving a critical gap in personalized MFH treatment planning. To address this, we develop a finite-element framework that integrates realistic SPMNPs distribution functions, along with a perfusion model whose magnitude varies with thermally induced tissue damage, all embedded within the Pennes bioheat formulation. Using representative breast compositions and tumor types, we investigate five spatial SPMNP-distributions under magnetic field conditions constrained by the magnetic field-frequency/Hergt–Dutz (<em>Hf</em>) threshold. The simulations resolve transient temperature fields, quantify thermal injury, and assess treatment quality across fatty to highly dense breast categories. The results indicate that fat-rich tumors exhibit a faster temperature rise than muscle-dominant tumors, and that the relative ease of heating mirrors the proportion of adipose to fibroglandular tissue in the surrounding breast. For deeply situated lesions, the extent of healthy-tissue injury is governed more strongly by the duration of heating than by the peak temperature attained, underscoring the importance of temporal control in MFH. Among the investigated spatial SPMNP-patterns, the radial Gaussian distribution consistently delivers the most advantageous balance − enhancing energy deposition within the tumor while restraining damage to adjacent tissue. These findings offer valuable insights for tailored, patient-specific hyperthermia therapy, thus lending to the successful clinical implementation of MFH as a promising tool for localized breast cancer treatment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104417"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146213532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Entropy enhanced infrared thermography: A radiation free paradigm for precision screening of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis","authors":"Ning Du ,&nbsp;Songzi Cui ,&nbsp;Chenxi Hu ,&nbsp;Shengshu Wang ,&nbsp;Fanqi Hu ,&nbsp;Xiaoqing Yang ,&nbsp;Weibo Liu ,&nbsp;Ji Guo Yu ,&nbsp;Xuesong Zhang ,&nbsp;Yafeng Song","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104430","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104430","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a significant challenge to global paediatric health. Early detection and longitudinal monitoring are critical for initiating non operative interventions and preventing irreversible skeletal complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of infrared thermography (IRT) entropy as a non invasive screening technique for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. To this end, we recruited 203 patients with idiopathic scoliosis and 105 healthy controls, all aged 8 to 18 years. The analysis examined differences in back entropy and temperature values between the idiopathic scoliosis and control groups, whilst calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to assess classification performance. Data analysis was conducted between February and July 2025. A significant disparity was identified between the idiopathic scoliosis group and the control group in both back entropy and temperature values (P &lt; 0.05), with idiopathic scoliosis patients exhibiting markedly reduced entropy and significantly elevated temperatures (for example, in the upper right (UR) region, entropy decreased from 2.63 ± 0.46 bits in the control group to 1.79 ± 0.41 bits in the left convex, while temperature increased from 36.1 ± 0.7 °C to 36.5 ± 0.1 °C). Intragroup analysis revealed good symmetry in both entropy and temperature between the left and right sides of the back in the control group (P &gt; 0.05). Conversely, both entropy and temperature values exhibited significant left right asymmetry in the idiopathic scoliosis group (P &lt; 0.05). ROC curve analysis demonstrated that entropy had good discriminatory ability in distinguishing AIS patients from controls, suggesting its potential utility as an adjunctive screening tool. This approach, being radiation free, effectively addresses the limitation of cumulative radiation exposure inherent in current X ray dependent detection protocols.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104430"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146776376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hard to measure Lilliputians: Error in the measurement of body temperature of small amphibians and a method to avoid it","authors":"Georgia K. Kosmala,&nbsp;Enore A. Massoni,&nbsp;Denis V. Andrade","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104391","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104391","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate measurement of body temperature (T_b) is essential for understanding the physiological ecology of ectothermic organisms. However, in small-bodied amphibians, heat exchange during handling and intrinsic limitations of measuring devices and/or protocols can introduce substantial error in T_b measurements. Here, we first estimated the magnitude of such an error for methodological approaches commonly adopted in the measurement of T_b in small ectothermic organisms in the field. We then propose a novel, low-cost restraint method, using a modified Foerster forceps, aimed at reducing heat transfer during handling. Accordingly, we compared the short-term changes (&lt;2 min) in the T_b of frogs restrained with bare or gloved hands with those measured under the new proposed restraint method. We performed all tests using the Hylidae treefrog <em>Dendropsophus nanus</em>, whose small size made it perfectly suited to our goals, and we also repeated the experiments at three ambient temperatures (15 °C, 25 °C, and 35 °C), which allowed us to evaluate the influence of this variable on the measurement error. Our results clearly demonstrate that heat transfer from the researcher's hand to a small-bodied frog causes large deviations in the measured T_b and that those changes happen at an amazingly fast pace (within seconds) and are most prominent at lower ambient temperatures. The largely preconized use of gloves during measurements indeed reduced the error in T_b measurements to a moderate extent; however, the novel Foerster method herein proposed resulted in minimal change in frog's T_b and proved to be a superior and viable alternative to improve the accuracy of T_b measurement in small-bodied ectotherms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104391"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146046840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of hibernation temperature and duration on oxidative status in the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis)","authors":"Jelena P. Gavrić-Čampar ,&nbsp;Marko Anđelković ,&nbsp;Branka R. Gavrilović ,&nbsp;Tijana B. Radovanović ,&nbsp;Mihailo Milićević ,&nbsp;Tamara G. Petrović ,&nbsp;Marko D. Prokić ,&nbsp;Svetlana G. Despotović","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104416","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104416","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global warming is expected to alter phenology in temperate ectotherms by advancing spring arousal and delaying autumn entry into hibernation. However, the physiological consequences of such shifts remain poorly understood in reptiles, particularly with respect to oxidative balance. We investigated the effects of hibernation temperature and duration on oxidative status in the common wall lizard (<em>Podarcis muralis</em>). Oxidative markers were measured in the liver and tail during the pre-hibernation period and after exposure to laboratory-simulated winter regimes differing in temperature (∼2.5 °C vs. 5.5 °C) and duration (three vs. four months), representing short-cold, short-mild, long-cold, and long-mild winter scenarios. Hibernation duration exerted generally inconsistent effects on antioxidant defenses, with changes detected in liver superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione, as well as in tail superoxide dismutase and glutathione. Temperature effects were modest, manifesting as upward trends in liver glutathione content and tail catalase activity, without significant interactions with hibernation duration. Cold-winter regimes were associated with increased lipid oxidative damage in the liver, although this response was not consistent across all treatments. Importantly, most oxidative parameters remained comparable to pre-hibernation values, with a significant reduction in glutathione levels observed only under short-cold conditions. Overall, the maintenance of redox homeostasis across contrasting thermal and temporal winter regimes indicates substantial physiological plasticity and resilience of <em>P. muralis</em> to altered thermal environments during hibernation, highlighting the capacity of reptiles to buffer oxidative challenges imposed by climate-driven changes in winter conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104416"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146213536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using infrared thermography to understand the thermal ecology of wild bumblebees","authors":"Mei L. McFeely ,&nbsp;Jessica R.K. Forrest ,&nbsp;Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104423","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2026.104423","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As global warming intensifies, pollinators such as bumblebees may experience increasing exposure to temperatures near their thermal limits. Heat stress impairs foraging and survival, making it essential to understand bumblebee body temperature in natural conditions. This study tested the feasibility of using infrared (IR) thermography as a non-invasive technique to measure the thoracic temperature of wild, foraging bumblebees and to evaluate how body temperature relates to environmental variables, including ambient air and floral surface temperatures. Thermographic measurements were validated against internal thoracic temperatures recorded by thermocouples in static bees, revealing a strong correlation (<em>r</em> = 0.98) with an average absolute difference of &lt;1 °C. We analysed thermal images of live <em>Bombus</em> individuals (<em>n</em> = 98) collected over five observation days in late summer. Bee body temperatures routinely exceeded both ambient and floral temperatures and approached the critical thermal maximum (CT_max) during midday foraging. A linear mixed-effects model revealed that bee temperature increased significantly with both ambient air and floral temperature, and a significant interaction term indicated that warmer floral surfaces amplified the effect of high ambient temperatures. These findings demonstrate that IR thermography can reliably measure bumblebee body temperature <em>in-situ</em>, bridging the gap between laboratory-derived thermal limits and field conditions. By capturing the combined effects of microclimate and physiology, this method offers new insight into pollinator heat stress at the organismal level and highlights the importance of fine-scale thermal data for assessing species’ responses to climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104423"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147284351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}