Construction and Operation of Heated Taxidermic Mounts Used to Measure Standard Operative Temperature

Predicting organismal vulnerability to climate warming: roles of behaviour, physiology and adaptation

“…To index thermal stresses on endotherms, biophysical ecologists [136] estimate 'standard operative temperature' (T es ). As with T e , T es can be calculated or approximated using physical models.…”

Use of operative temperature and standard operative temperature models in thermal biology

“…This allows measurements of thermal stress in different environments to be compared with a single reference environment. Standard operative temperature and M-E have been measured using both heated taxidermic mounts (Bakken, 1976(Bakken, , 1980Bakken et al, 1981Bakken et al, , 1983Bakken et al, , 1999bButtemer, 1985;Wiersma and Piersma, 1994) and calculated from T e (Chappell, 1981;Chappell and Bartholomew, 1981a, b;Vispo and Bakken, 1993).…”

“…They are constructed by electroforming a thin-walled copper shell over a cast of a skinned animal (Bakken and Gates, 1975). Heated taxidermic mounts then have heater wires placed in contact with the metal surface and a thermostat that regulates the heater power to ensure that the central model temperature remains constant at the T b of the animal (Bakken et al, 1981(Bakken et al, , 1983. The pelt of the animal is then placed over the cast, sewn shut, and allowed to dry.…”

“…It is extremely important that the pelt or plumage is in contact with the surface of the entire cast, as air bubbles between the cast and insulation could alter the conductance of the model. In the past, the insulation layer has been cemented to the cast using adhesives such as cyanoacrylate or heatconducting paste (Bakken, 1976;Bakken et al, 1981Bakken et al, , 1983Bakken et al, , 1985Wiersma and Piersma, 1994).…”

Temperature of limpets in the rocky intertidal zone:Effects of caging and substratum

“…Exact duplicates of the organism are constructed out of thin-shelled metal casts containing a thermocouple inside for temperature measurements. Bakken et al (1983) described in detail the methods of construction of the taxidermic models. For this study, individuals of the limpet CoZZiseZZa scabra, a common high intertidal species, were used to construct the T, probes.…”