Table 1.

Frequently used terms related to thermoregulation and their definitions (adopted from Pough and Gans 1982)

Body temperature (Tb)	It is used in general sense to indicate an approximate internal temperature. In most studies on ectotherm thermoregulation, Tb refers to the average field body temperature.
Selected (preferred) temperature (Tp)	The arithmetic average of the body temperature measured from animals in a laboratory thermal gradient. This assumes a normal distribution of body temperatures in the population. If the distribution is not normal, other measures such as median can be used to calculate Tp of the population as well as individuals.
Selected temperature range	The range of body temperatures maintained by an ectotherm in a laboratory temperature gradient providing conditions that would permit an animal to extend its body temperature above and below the activity temperature range.