Food Digestion and Thermal Preference of Toad: Food Intake, Digestive Efficiency, and Preferred Temperature of Bufo Bankorensis from Different Altitudes

Temperature is the most important factor affecting the physiology performances of the ectotherms and each physiological function has its optimal temperature range. Many high-altitude ectotherms can alter the optimal temperature ranges in order to function better at the low temperature environments. Food intake and digestion are the essential processes for energy acquisition of organisms. Preferred temperature (PT) is a compromised set point for all physiological performances of an organism. In some ectotherms, food intake, digestion, and growth are maximized at PT. In this book, the common toads (Bufo bankorensis), which have wide altitudinal distribution in Taiwan, was a model to (1)compare the optimal temperatures for food intake and digestion in different altitudinal populations (chapter 1); (2)compare the PTs of the altitudinal populations (Chapter 2), and (3) elucidate the relationship between PT and the optimal temperatures for food intake and digestion. This book should improve the understanding of thermal biology and adaption of amphibian in different environments.