Temperature, season and integrative physiology: the cases of two Brazilian ectothermic species. 

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This lecture will focus on the contrasting effects of temperature and temperature-independent seasonal variation in physiological variables, including comparisons between data from laboratory controlled and field (or semi-natural; captivity) uncontrolled conditions. As interesting animal models for this approach, they are the toad Rhinella schneideri and the tegu lizard Salvator merianae, two non-related ectothermic species that show metabolic reductions during dry and warm winters in Southeastern Brazil. In addition, this lizard is ectothermic most of the year, hibernates during warm and dry winter and becomes endothermic during the reproductive season, a characteristic that brings new insights to the evolution of endothermy, including the upstream endocrine regulation of its metabolic annual cycle. Finally, challenges for continuous monitoring physiology in seasonal cycles will also be discussed.