Most of the literature on temperature-organism interactions rely on mean temperature (mostly air), disregarding the real complexity of this variable. There is a growing consensus about the importance of considering the temperature fluctuations as a mechanism improving organism's performance. Tadpoles are small body size ectotherm organisms that behave isothermally with their environment. As such, are good models for studying their thermal biology relative to their immediate environment. We studied six anuran tadpole species in North Patagonia, Alsodes gargola, Hylorina sylvatica, Batrachyla taeniata, Pleurodema thaul, P. bufoninum and Rhinella spinulosa, distributed in a West-East altitudinal cline with different environments and thermal conditions. We evaluated the relationship between thermal descriptors at a local scale and the thermal biology patterns of these temperate tadpoles. We estimated thermal tolerance limits and thermal sensitivity of locomotion of each species. The different aquatic environments showed important differences in local thermal conditions, associated with observed differences in the thermal traits in these tadpoles. Species exposed to lower temperature fluctuations and lower environmental mean temperatures showed lower swimming optimal temperatures and narrower thermal tolerance ranges. We found greater variability in the upper than in the lower critical limits in these Patagonian anuran tadpoles. Minimum critical temperatures were close to freezing temperature, possibly in detriment of their tolerance to high temperatures. Overall, our results suggest that these species are adapted to low temperatures. Finally, warming tolerances and predicted thermal safety margins, show that none of the studied species appear to be under thermal stress that may compromise their survival at the present time or in the near future, under a moderate climate change scenario.

中文翻译：

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局部温度是否可以解释温带蝌蚪的热生物学模式？

大多数关于温度-生物体相互作用的文献都依赖于平均温度（主要是空气），而忽略了这个变量的真正复杂性。对于将温度波动视为提高生物体性能的机制的重要性，人们越来越达成共识。蝌蚪是体型较小的变温生物，它们的行为与环境等温。因此，是研究其相对于其直接环境的热生物学的良好模型。我们研究了分布在具有不同环境和热条件的东西向海拔的北巴塔哥尼亚、Alsodes Gargola、Hylorina sylvatica、Batrachyla taeniata、Pleurodema thaul、P. bufoninum 和 Rhinella spinulosa 的六种无尾蝌蚪物种。我们评估了局部尺度的热描述符与这些温带蝌蚪的热生物学模式之间的关系。我们估计了每个物种的热耐受极限和运动的热敏感性。不同的水生环境显示出局部热条件的重要差异，这与观察到的这些蝌蚪热特性的差异有关。暴露于较低温度波动和较低环境平均温度的物种表现出较低的游泳最佳温度和较窄的热耐受范围。我们发现这些巴塔哥尼亚无尾蝌蚪的临界上限的变异性大于临界下限。最低临界温度接近冰点温度，可能不利于它们对高温的耐受性。总体，我们的结果表明这些物种适应低温。最后，变暖耐受性和预测的热安全裕度表明，在温和的气候变化情景下，所研究的物种似乎都没有处于可能危及它们目前或不久的将来生存的热应力之下。