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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior pp 1–6Cite as

Semi-aquatic

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Synonyms

Adaptations; Amphibious; Life history trade-offs; Semiterrestrial lifestyle

Definition

Lifestyle enclosing living (or life stages) both in water and on land

Origin of Life and Transition from Water to Land

Animal life developed in water and later invaded the land. Primitive land organisms were mostly myriapod-like forms occupying cryptozoic (i.e., low light, stable and cool temperature, high humidity) habitats. Providing complementary oxygen supply to water respiration during periods of oxygen shortage, air-breathing likely evolved in response to the insurgence of large areas of shallow waters provoked by the shift of the continents in the Silurian period, global decline in oxygen levels during the Middle Devonian, and higher metabolic costs due to greater mobility, competition, and predation pressures. In the end of the Devonian period, the so-called tetrapods (modern amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals), animals with limbs, supporting the skeleton, and lungs, slowly...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIBIO/InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Geneticos, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal

    Lorenzo Quaglietta

  2. CEABN/InBio, Centro de Ecologia Aplicada “Professor Baeta Neves”, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal

    Lorenzo Quaglietta

Authors
  1. Lorenzo Quaglietta
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lorenzo Quaglietta .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Federal Institute Farroupilha, Panambi, RS, Brazil

    Caroline Leuchtenberger

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Quaglietta, L. (2018). Semi-aquatic. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_394-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_394-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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