Ozone exposure affects feeding and locomotor behavior of adult Bufo marinus.

Ozone (O3), a reactive component of air pollution, depresses feeding and voluntary locomotor behavior in laboratory rodents, but the effects of O3 on amphibian behavior are not known. We evaluated the effects of 4 h of exposure to air or ozone (0.6 microl/L), on two ecologically relevant behaviors of the toad Bufo marinus.

Effects of ozone exposure on nonspecific phagocytic capacity of pulmonary macrophages from an amphibian, Bufo marinus.

Pulmonary macrophages are an important component of immune defense against inhaled foreign particles and microorganisms. In humans and other mammals, exposure to moderate amounts of ozone (O3) can inhibit functional capacities of alveolar macrophages. In many wilderness areas downwind of urban centers, ozone levels frequently exceed national standards.

Respiratory and behavioral effects of ozone on a lizard and a frog.

Ozone at concentrations found in urban air pollution is known to have significant physiological effects on humans and other mammals. Exposure of the lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis, to 0.6 ppm ozone for 4 h at 25 degrees C induced 1.

QUANTITATIVE GENETICS OF SPRINT RUNNING SPEED AND SWIMMING ENDURANCE IN LABORATORY HOUSE MICE (MUS DOMESTICUS).

We tested the hypothesis that locomotor speed and endurance show a negative genetic correlation using a genetically variable laboratory strain of house mice (Hsd:ICR: Mus domesticus). A negative genetic correlation would qualify as an evolutionary "constraint," because both aspects of locomotor performance are generally expected to be under positive directional selection in wild populations. We also tested whether speed or endurance showed any genetic correlation with body mass.