Duncan Mitchell
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View article: Beetling the heat – the diurnal Namib Desert beetle <i>Onymacris plana</i> cools by running
Beetling the heat – the diurnal Namib Desert beetle <i>Onymacris plana</i> cools by running Open
Onymacris plana (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is a black beetle that runs at high speed for a pedestrian insect in direct solar radiation in the Namib Desert, a behaviour expected to impose potentially lethal body temperature within minutes.…
View article: Revisiting Concepts of Thermal Physiology: Understanding Feedback and Feedforward Control, and Local Temperature Regulation
Revisiting Concepts of Thermal Physiology: Understanding Feedback and Feedforward Control, and Local Temperature Regulation Open
Most experts agree that the dominant mechanism through which body temperature is regulated, under a thermal challenge, environmental or metabolic, is negative feedback control. However, some consider negative feedback to be too sluggish to…
View article: Measurement of microclimates in a warming world: problems and solutions
Measurement of microclimates in a warming world: problems and solutions Open
As the world warms, it will be tempting to relate the biological responses of terrestrial animals to air temperature. But air temperature typically plays a lesser role in the heat exchange of those animals than does radiant heat. Under rad…
View article: FIG Publication No. 68, The FIG Christchurch Declaration: Responding to Climate Change and Tenure Insecurity in Small Island Developing States - The Role of Land Professionals
FIG Publication No. 68, The FIG Christchurch Declaration: Responding to Climate Change and Tenure Insecurity in Small Island Developing States - The Role of Land Professionals Open
This publication is the result of the workshop on "Responding to Climate Change and Tenure Insecurity in Small Island Developing States - The Role of Land Professionals" held in Christchurch, New Zealand 30 April - 1 May 2016 in connection…
View article: Reliability of methods to determine cutaneous evaporative water loss rate in furred and fleeced mammals
Reliability of methods to determine cutaneous evaporative water loss rate in furred and fleeced mammals Open
We used a high‐precision weighing system and flow‐through respirometry to quantify cutaneous evaporative water loss rates in woolly sheep (wool thickness, ca. 6.5 cm) and haired goats (coat thickness, ca. 2.5 cm), while simultaneously reco…
View article: 552 Tailoring transition care pathways to complexity of young people’s needs
552 Tailoring transition care pathways to complexity of young people’s needs Open
Background Historically, families reported 'falling off a cliff' on reaching adulthood, as paediatric care ceased. If health needs of disabled adults and those with long-term conditions starting in childhood are to be adequately met, they …
View article: How dryland mammals will respond to climate change: the effects of body size, heat load and a lack of food and water
How dryland mammals will respond to climate change: the effects of body size, heat load and a lack of food and water Open
Mammals in drylands are facing not only increasing heat loads but also reduced water and food availability as a result of climate change. Insufficient water results in suppression of evaporative cooling and therefore increases in body core…
View article: Increased Diurnal Activity Is Indicative of Energy Deficit in a Nocturnal Mammal, the Aardvark
Increased Diurnal Activity Is Indicative of Energy Deficit in a Nocturnal Mammal, the Aardvark Open
Shifting activity to cooler times of day buffers animals from increased heat and aridity under climate change. Conversely, when resources are limited, some nocturnal species become more diurnal, reducing energetic costs of keeping warm at …
View article: Fog and fauna of the Namib Desert: past and future
Fog and fauna of the Namib Desert: past and future Open
The future of fog‐dependent habitats under climate change is unknown but likely precarious; many have experienced recent declines in fog. Fog‐dependent deserts particularly will be threatened, because, there, fog can be the main water sour…
View article: Pain in clients attending a South African voluntary counselling and testing centre was frequent and extensive but did not depend on HIV status
Pain in clients attending a South African voluntary counselling and testing centre was frequent and extensive but did not depend on HIV status Open
Background The frequency of pain is reported to be high in people living with HIV (PLWH), but valid comparisons between PLWH and HIV-negative cohorts are rare. We investigated whether HIV infection influenced frequency and characteristics …
View article: Scaling of cardiac morphology is interrupted by birth in the developing sheep <i>Ovis aries</i>
Scaling of cardiac morphology is interrupted by birth in the developing sheep <i>Ovis aries</i> Open
Scaling of the heart across development can reveal the degree to which variation in cardiac morphology depends on body mass. In this study, we assessed the scaling of heart mass, left and right ventricular masses, and ventricular mass rati…
View article: Supporting data: Keeping cool in the heat: Behavioral thermoregulation and body temperature patterns in wild vervet monkeys
Supporting data: Keeping cool in the heat: Behavioral thermoregulation and body temperature patterns in wild vervet monkeys Open
Data and R code in support of manuscript
View article: Revisiting concepts of thermal physiology: Predicting responses of mammals to climate change
Revisiting concepts of thermal physiology: Predicting responses of mammals to climate change Open
The accuracy of predictive models (also known as mechanistic or causal models) of animal responses to climate change depends on properly incorporating the principles of heat transfer and thermoregulation into those models. Regrettably, pro…
View article: Scaling of morphology and ultrastructure of hearts among wild African antelope
Scaling of morphology and ultrastructure of hearts among wild African antelope Open
The hearts of smaller mammals tend to operate at higher mass-specific mechanical work rates than those of larger mammals. The ultrastructural characteristics of the heart that allow for such variation in work rate still is largely unknown.…
View article: Thermoregulatory behavior and high thermal preference buffer impact of climate change in a Namib Desert lizard
Thermoregulatory behavior and high thermal preference buffer impact of climate change in a Namib Desert lizard Open
Knowledge of the thermal ecology of a species can improve model predictions for temperature‐induced population collapse, which in light of climate change is increasingly important for species with limited distributions. Here, we use a mult…
View article: Carer Experience Supporting Someone With Dementia and Cancer: A Narrative Approach
Carer Experience Supporting Someone With Dementia and Cancer: A Narrative Approach Open
In this article, we examine the challenges of informal carers supporting someone with dementia and cancer within the United Kingdom. Interviews were conducted with seven informal carers using a narrative approach to examine the constructio…
View article: Scaling of the ankle extensor muscle‐tendon units and the biomechanical implications for bipedal hopping locomotion in the post‐pouch kangaroo<i>Macropus fuliginosus</i>
Scaling of the ankle extensor muscle‐tendon units and the biomechanical implications for bipedal hopping locomotion in the post‐pouch kangaroo<i>Macropus fuliginosus</i> Open
Bipedal hopping is used by macropods, including rat‐kangaroos, wallabies and kangaroos (superfamily Macropodoidea). Interspecific scaling of the ankle extensor muscle‐tendon units in the lower hindlimbs of these hopping bipeds shows that p…
View article: Fathers of adults who have a learning disability: Roles, needs and concerns
Fathers of adults who have a learning disability: Roles, needs and concerns Open
Accessible summary This study asked fathers of adults who have a learning disability about their experiences, what helps them and any worries they may have. Fathers reported different experiences of being a father to an adult with a learni…
View article: Drought-induced starvation of aardvarks in the Kalahari: an indirect effect of climate change
Drought-induced starvation of aardvarks in the Kalahari: an indirect effect of climate change Open
Aardvarks ( Orycteropus afer ) are elusive burrowing mammals, predominantly nocturnal and distributed widely throughout Africa except for arid deserts. Their survival may be threatened by climate change via direct and indirect effects of i…
View article: Body water conservation through selective brain cooling by the carotid rete: a physiological feature for surviving climate change?
Body water conservation through selective brain cooling by the carotid rete: a physiological feature for surviving climate change? Open
Some mammals have the ability to lower their hypothalamic temperature below that of carotid arterial blood temperature, a process termed selective brain cooling. Although the requisite anatomical structure that facilitates this physiologic…
View article: Towards a mechanistic understanding of the responses of large terrestrial mammals to heat and aridity associated with climate change
Towards a mechanistic understanding of the responses of large terrestrial mammals to heat and aridity associated with climate change Open
In the face of climate change, the life history traits of large terrestrial mammals will prevent them from adapting genetically at a sufficient pace to keep track with changing environments, and habitat fragmentation will preclude them fro…
View article: Resilience does not explain the dissociation between chronic pain and physical activity in South Africans living with HIV
Resilience does not explain the dissociation between chronic pain and physical activity in South Africans living with HIV Open
Pain burden is high in people living with HIV (PLWH), but the effect of this pain on functionality is equivocal. Resilience, the ability to cope with adversity, may promote adaptation to pain, so we hypothesised that higher resilience woul…
View article: A structure-function analysis of the left ventricle
A structure-function analysis of the left ventricle Open
This study presents a structure-function analysis of the mammalian left ventricle and examines the performance of the cardiac capillary network, mitochondria, and myofibrils at rest and during simulated heavy exercise. Left ventricular ext…
View article: Fathers of people with intellectual disability: A review of the literature
Fathers of people with intellectual disability: A review of the literature Open
The aim of this article is to review the literature related to fathers of people who have an intellectual disability (ID). Electronic databases and citation tracking were used to collate data using key terms such as fathers, adults with an…