Summary
The literature on the effects of pigmentation on radiant energy absorption and temperature in poikilothermic animals is reviewed. Some of the difficulties encountered in studies of this type are described.
Mercury-filled shells and live snails of different colours were exposed to sunlight. Darker-pigmented shells were almost always hotter than lighter shells. Large differences in pigmentation (yellow compared with brown, yellow unbanded compared with yellow banded) led to more pronounced differences in temperatures than did small differences in pigmentation (yellow compared with pink, pink compared with brown).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnold, R. W.: The effects of selection by climate on the land-snail Cepaea nemoralis (L.). Evolution 23, 370–378 (1969)
Barnes, R. B.: Thermography of the human body. Science 140, 870–877 (1963)
Benham, B. R., Lonsdale, D., Muggleton, J.: Is polymorphism in two-spot ladybird an example of non-industrial melanism? Nature (Lond.) 249, 179–180 (1974)
Buxton, P. A.: Heat, moisture and animal life in deserts. Proc. roy. Soc. B 96, 123–131 (1924)
Cain, A. J.: Studies on Cepaea V. Sand dune populations of Cepaea nemoralis (L.). Phil. Trans. B 253, 499–517 (1968)
Digby, P. S.: Factors affecting the temperature excess of insects in sunshine. J. exp. Biol. 32, 279–298 (1955)
Dixon, A. F. G.: Control and significance of the seasonal development of colour forms in the sycamore aphid, Drepanosiphum platanoides (Schr.). J. anim. Ecol. 41, 689–697 (1972)
Edney, E. B.: The body temperature of tenebrionid beetles in the Namib Desert of Southern Africa. J. exp. Biol. 55, 253–272 (1971)
Geiger, R.: The climate near the ground. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press 1959
Goodhart, C. B.: Variation in a colony of the landsnail Cepaea nemoralis (L.). J. anim. Ecol. 31, 207–237 (1962)
Gunn, D. L.: Body temperature in poikilothermic animals. Biol. Rev. 17, 293–314 (1942)
Hadley, N. F.: Micrometerology and energy exchange in two desert arthropods. Ecology 51, 434–444 (1970)
Hamilton, W. J.: Life's colour code. New York: McGraw-Hill 1973
Hill, L., Taylor, H. J.: Locusts in sunlight. Nature (Lond.) 132, 276 (1933)
Hogben, L., Kirk, R. L.: Studies on temperature regulation. I. The Pulmonata and Oligochaeta. Proc. roy. Soc. B 132, 239–252 (1944)
Jones, J. S.: Ecological genetics and natural selection in molluscs. Science 182, 546–552 (1973)
Kelly, C. F., Bond, T. E., Heitman, H.: The role of thermal radiation in animal ecology. 35, 562–569 (1954)
Parry, D. A.: Factors affecting the temperature of terrestrial arthropods in sunlight. J. exp. Biol. 28, 445–463 (1951)
Pepper, J. H., Hastings, E.: The effects of solar radiation on grasshopper temperatures and activities. Ecology 33, 96–103 (1952)
Richardson, A. M. M.: Differential climatic selection in natural populations of land snail Cepaea nemoralis. Nature (Lond.) 247, 572–573 (1974)
Rücker, F.: Durchlässigkeit tierischer Gewebe im Ultrarot. Arch. ges. Physiol. 231, 742–749 (1933)
Schmidt-Nielsen, K., Taylor, C. R., Shkolnik, A.: Desert snails: problems of heat, water and food. J. exp. Biol. 55, 385–398 (1971)
Siegel, S.: Nonparametric statistics: for the behavioural sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill 1956
Stower, W. J., Griffiths, J. F.: The body temperature of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria). Ent. exp. and Appl. 9, 127–178 (1966)
Watt, W. B.: The adaptive significance of pigment polymorphism in Colias butterflies. Evolution 22, 437–458 (1968)
Wilkins, J., Fingerman, M.: Heat tolerance and temperature relationships of Uca pugilator with reference to body colouration. Biol. Bull. Wood's Hole 128, 133–141 (1965)
Yom-Tov, Y.: Body temperature and light reflectance in two desert snails Proc. Malac. Soc. Lond. 39, 319–326 (1971)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heath, D.J. Colour, sunlight and internal temperatures in the land-snail Cepaea nemoralis (L.). Oecologia 19, 29–38 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377587
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377587