The metabolic rate and thermal conductance of the eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) at different ambient temperatures

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 603 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Ikonomopoulou ◽  
R. W. Rose

We investigated the metabolic rate, thermoneutral zone and thermal conductance of the eastern barred bandicoot in Tasmania. Five adult eastern barred bandicoots (two males, three non-reproductive females) were tested at temperatures of 3, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40°C. The thermoneutral zone was calculated from oxygen consumption and body temperature, measured during the daytime: their normal resting phase. It was found that the thermoneutral zone lies between 25°C and 30°C, with a minimum metabolic rate of 0.51 mL g–1 h–1 and body temperature of 35.8°C. At cooler ambient temperatures (3–20°C) the body temperature decreased to approximately 34.0°C while the metabolic rate increased from 0.7 to 1.3 mL g–1�h–1. At high temperatures (35°C and 40°C) both body temperature (36.9–38.7°C) and metabolic rate (1.0–1.5 mL g–1 h–1) rose. Thermal conductance was low below an ambient temperature of 30°C but increased significantly at higher temperatures. The low thermal conductance (due, in part, to good insulation, a reduced body temperature at lower ambient temperatures, combined with a relatively high metabolic rate) suggests that this species is well adapted to cooler environments but it could not thermoregulate easily at temperatures above 30°C.

1965 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermann Pohl

Characteristics of cold acclimation in the golden hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, were 1) higher metabolic rate at -30 C, 2) less shivering when related to ambient temperature or oxygen consumption, and 3) higher differences in body temperature between cardiac area and thoracic subcutaneous tissues at all ambient temperatures tested, indicating changes in tissue insulation. Cold-acclimated hamsters also showed a rise in temperature of the cardiac area when ambient temperature was below 15 C. Changes in heat distribution in cold-acclimated hamsters suggest higher blood flow and heat production in the thoracic part of the body in the cold. The thermal conductance through the thoracic and lumbar muscle areas, however, did not change notably with lowering ambient temperature. Marked differences in thermoregulatory response to cold after cold acclimation were found between two species, the golden hamster and the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, showing greater ability to regulate body temperature in the cold in hamsters. hibernator; oxygen consumption— heat production; body temperature — heat conductance; muscular activity — shivering; thermoregulation Submitted on July 6, 1964


2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Dixon ◽  
R. W. Rose

The energetics of the lesser long-eared bat, Nyctophilus geoffroyi, at the southern limits of its distribution was examined to determine whether this species shows any latitudinal variation in this aspect of its physiological ecology. Estimates of metabolic rate were obtained from the oxygen consumption of adult bats in a non-reproductive condition. Values for the thermoneutral zone were similar but thermal conductance was lower than for bats from mainland of Australia. Euthermic body temperature was higher (37.4 ± 0.2°C) and the ambient temperature at which N. geoffroyi entered torpor has a downward shift of 10°C at the southern limits of its distribution. The basal metabolic rate (1.12 ± 0.14 mL O2 g–1 h–1) also was lower than in lower latitudes. Thermal conductance of the bats in Tasmania was lower than that found in New South Wales or Western Australia (0.29 v. 0.38–0.39 mL O2 g–1 h–1 °C–1). All of these differences are apparently adaptations to a cooler environment.


1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Bech ◽  
Stewart C. Nicol

Oxygen consumption (VO2) and body temperature (Tb) were measured during daytime (corresponding to the normal resting phase) in the tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides, mean body mass of 341 g) at ambient temperatures (Ta) between -1ºC and 30ºC. Mean body temperature (over this range of Ta) was 37.8ºC and there was only a small (0.4ºC), and insignificant, day-night variation in Tb. Mean VO2 within thermoneutrality (25-30ºC) was 0.59 mL O2 g-1 h-1 , corresponding to a basal metabolic rate (BMR) of 3.32 W kg-1 . This value is only 61% of the predicted value for a non-passeriform bird. The minimal thermal conductance attained at Ta below thermoneutrality was 0.156 W kg-1 ºC-1, a value which is very close to the allometrically predicted value. The relatively low VO2 was paralleled by a low total ventilatory volume. This, in turn, was mainly the result of a low respiratory frequency (10.2 breaths min-1, only 52% of that expected for a similar-sized bird) whereas tidal volume (6.6 mL [BTPS]) was 107% of the expected value. Thus, our results suggest that the changing ventilatory needs during the evolution of the low VO2 in the tawny frogmouth have been met primarily by changes in respiratory frequency.


1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Geiser

The pattern of torpor was examined in the eastern pygmy possum, Cercartetus nanus (21 g). Animals displayed torpor regularly in the laboratory, and the occurrence of torpor increased with decreasing air temperature (T(a)). At high T(a) (18-degrees-C) animals usually exhibited daily torpor, but torpor bouts of up to 2 days were observed occasionally. The duration of torpor bouts lengthened with a lowering of T(a) and the mean bout duration at T(a) = 5-degrees-C was 17.0 +/- 2.5 days. The minimum metabolic rate (measured as rate of oxygen consumption) of torpid individuals was 0.018 +/- 0.003 mL O2 g-1 h-1, which is less than 2% of the basal metabolic rate. The body temperature (T(b)) Of torpid animals fell to a minimum of 1.3 +/- 0.4-degrees-C. These results clearly demonstrate that Cercartetus nanus is a deep hibernator.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (6) ◽  
pp. R2097-R2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Song ◽  
Gerhard Körtner ◽  
Fritz Geiser

We tested whether the reduction of metabolic rate (MR) in hibernating Cercartetus nanus (Marsupialia, 36 g) is better explained by the reduction of body temperature (Tb), the differential (ΔT) between Tb and air temperature (Ta), or thermal conductance (C). Above the critical Ta during torpor (Ttc) of 4.8 ± 0.7°C, where the Tb was not regulated, the steady-state MR was an exponential function of Tb( r 2 = 0.92), and the overall Q10 was 3.3. However, larger Q10 values were observed at high Tb values during torpor, particularly within the thermoneutral zone (Q10 = 9.5), whereas low Q10 values were observed below Tb 20°C (Q10 = 1.9). The ΔT did not change over Ta 5–20°C, although MR fell, and therefore the two variables were not correlated. Below the Ttc, Tb was regulated at 6.1 ± 1.0°C and MR increased proportionally to ΔT. Our study suggests that MR in torpid C. nanus is largely determined by temperature effects and metabolic inhibition. In contrast, ΔT explains MR only below the Ttc and C appears to affect MR only indirectly via changes of Tb, suggesting that ΔT and C play only a secondary role in MR reduction during hibernation.


1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (2) ◽  
pp. R284-R289 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. Owen ◽  
R. L. Spencer ◽  
S. P. Duckles

To determine whether senescence affects the metabolic and behavioral responses of rats to chronic cold exposure, 8- and 22-mo-old male Fischer 344 rats were studied before and after 6 wk of cold (6-10 degrees C) exposure. Measurements of body weight, food consumption, oxygen consumption, body temperature, and ambient temperature selection in a thermocline (7-37 degrees C linear gradient) were made at regular intervals throughout the acclimation period. Before acclimation, age groups differed significantly only by weight. During acclimation, older rats had increased mortality and morbidity below 10 degrees C. After acclimation at 10 degrees C, younger and older rats both selected cooler ambient temperatures (7 and 5 degrees C cooler than preacclimation, respectively), and older rats had a significantly greater decrease in body temperature in the thermocline. Both age groups increased resting metabolic rate at 25 degrees C with cold acclimation (16.5 and 10% increase for younger and older rats, respectively). This study indicates distinct differences in metabolic and behavioral responses of younger and older rats to cold acclimation. Chronic cold exposure is detrimental to thermoregulatory function in older rats, since it is not as effective in stimulating sustained increases in metabolic rate in older rats as in young adults and it leads to a preference for cooler ambient temperatures, resulting in increased heat loss and reduced body temperature.


2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander N. Larcombe ◽  
Philip C. Withers ◽  
Stewart C. Nicol

Thermoregulatory, metabolic and ventilatory parameters measured for the Tasmanian eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) in thermoneutrality (ambient temperature = 30°C) were: body temperature 35.1°C, basal metabolic rate 0.55 mL O2 g–1 h–1, wet thermal conductance 2.2 mL O2 g–1 h–1 °C–1, dry thermal conductance 1.4 J g–1 h–1 °C–1, ventilatory frequency 24.8 breaths min–1, tidal volume 9.9 mL, minute volume of 246 mL min–1, and oxygen extraction efficiency 22.2%. These physiological characteristics are consistent with a cool/wet distribution, e.g. high basal metabolic rate (3.33 mL O2 g–0.75 h–1) for thermogenesis, low thermal conductance (0.92 J g–1 h–1 °C–1 at 10°C) for heat retention and intolerance of high ambient temperatures (≥35°C) with panting, hyperthermia and high total evaporative water loss (16.9 mg H2O g–1 h–1).


1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 841-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence C. H. Wang ◽  
Douglas L. Jones ◽  
Robert A. MacArthur ◽  
William A. Fuller

Unlike other lagomorphs or any other mammals living in a cold environment, the basal metabolic rate of the arctic hare, Lepus arcticus monstrabilis (0.36 cm3 O2/g per hour) was only 62–83% of the values predicted from its body weight. The minimum thermal conductance (0.010 cm3 O2/g per hour per degree centigrade) was also reduced to only 51–59% of its weight-specific value (0.019–0.017 cm3 O2/g per hour per degree centigrade). The normal body temperature (38.9C), however, was comparable to that of other lagomorphs. The daily energy consumption between ambient temperatures of −24 and 12.5C was between 262 and 133 kcal, which is 6–43% above the minimum resting values at corresponding ambient temperatures.It is concluded that the reduction of surface area to volume ratio and the effectiveness of its insulation are sufficient compensations so that the arctic hare can maintain a normal body temperature with a depressed basal metabolic rate. Such a reduction of metabolism is energetically adaptive for a species living exclusively in a cold and relatively barren habitat.


2008 ◽  
Vol 422 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Anufriev ◽  
N. G. Solomonov ◽  
A. P. Isayev ◽  
V. F. Yadrikhinsky ◽  
N. I. Mordosova

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Fournier ◽  
Donald W Thomas

We measured the thermoregulatory responses of 13 North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) to low ambient temperatures during respirometry trials in both air and a helium-oxygen gas mixture (helox). The objective was to quantify the energy metabolism of porcupines under varying ambient temperatures. The basal metabolic rate of our winter-acclimatized porcupines was higher than expected for animals of their body size, whereas thermal conductance was lower than allometric predictions. The increase in metabolic rate that we observed at -20°C was ca. 2 X BMR, although this was not the animals' maximum thermogenic capacity. The mean increase in thermal conductance for individuals placed in a helox atmosphere over that measured in an oxygen atmosphere was 1.91 and this represented a metabolic rate of ca. 3 X BMR at -20°C. We also determined that the repeatability of oxygen-consumption measurements below thermoneutrality were highly repeatable over medium-length time intervals (mean = 11 days) for both absolute and residual values.


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