Aquatic thermoregulation of captive and free-ranging beavers (Castor canadensis)
Abdominal cooling occurred in 91% of all aquatic excursions documented in free-ranging beavers during fall and winter. Kits aged 4–7 months cooled faster and spent less time foraging in 1–12 °C water than did animals > 1 year old. All beavers tested in the laboratory displayed abdominal cooling in 2–20 °C water, with maximal cooling rates recorded in a 5- to 7-week-old kit. Immersion in cold water induced strong peripheral cooling, though skin temperatures beneath the pelage remained within 4–5 °C of abdominal measurements. The resting metabolic rate of beavers > 1 year old was independent of water temperature between 19 and 31 °C, but increased proportionately at lower temperatures. Whole-body conductance of resting animals was on average 1.6–3.0 times higher in water than in air. Maximum testing metabolic rates in water varied from 1.8 to 2.4 times the mean resting thermoneutral rate in air. Our results suggest that beavers mitigate the thermogenic effort required in water by adopting a thermoregulatory strategy which combines avoidance of prolonged immersion with a tolerance to passive cooling.