A Brief Introduction to Methods for Describing Body Temperature in Endotherms.

Researchers commonly measure body, orifice, or skin temperature (collectively referred to as body temperature [Tb] herein) of endothermic animals in biomedical, physiological, evolutionary, and ecological studies. However, comparing Tb among species or placing a single study in context is challenging because there is no single, standard method to describe and synthesize Tb data of endotherms. A variety of metrics are available, and each has strengths and weaknesses appropriate for answering different types of questions. Importantly, choosing the wrong metric to address the question posed can lead to misinterpretations and misleading presentation of Tb data. Here I review standard metrics used to describe central tendencies and variation in Tb of endothermic species, focusing on important strengths and weaknesses and suggested questions to be addressed using each metric. One of the most common mistakes in analyzing Tb data is mismatching the analytical metric and the question being asked, so, ultimately, individual researchers need to determine which is most appropriate for addressing their question based on the implications of using each metric.