Behavioral strategies of the African ice rat Otomys sloggetti robertsi in the cold

Schwaibold, Ute; Pillay, Neville

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.05.013

Cited by 34 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The increased feeding time would match the elevation in food intake following cold exposures. Consistently, the increased time spent on consuming food during cold weather was also found in other rodents, such as ice rats (Otomys sloggetti robertsi) (Schwaibold and Pillay, 2006) and Brant's whistling rat (Parotomys brantsii) (Jackson, 1998). The possible explanation would be the higher energy demands when ambient temperature was low, resulting in higher thermogenic demands that are accompanied by greater energy intake through feeding (Hayne et al, 1986;Schultz et al, 1999;Schwaibold and Pillay, 2006).…”

Section: Behaviorsupporting

confidence: 53%

“…Different letters above the columns indicate significant difference between groups (P<0.05). Energy budget in cold-exposed mice increasing feeding time (Johnson and Cabanac, 1982;Perrigo Bronson, 1985;Schwaibold and Pillay, 2006). Also in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), the duration of activity per bout decreased at colder temperatures, and the amount of time spent active in the cold was negatively correlated with ambient temperature (Sears et al, 2009).…”

Section: Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In terms of energy homeostasis and body weight balance, researchers have increasingly focused on behavior, as animals usually change their behavioral rhythm when environmental variations occur (Johnson and Cabanac, 1982;Geiser and Ruf, 1995;Schwaibold and Pillay, 2006). For example, several small rodents including house mice and rats reduce the time spent on energetically costly behaviors (e.g.…”

Section: Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

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The energy budget, thermogenic capacity and behavior in Swiss mice exposed to a consecutive decrease in temperatures

Zhao

Chi

Cao

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYThe limitation on sustainable energy intake (SusEI) is important because it establishes the upper energetic limit on the ability of animals to disperse, survive and reproduce. However, there are still arguments about what factors impose that limitation. Thermoregulation in cold environments imposes great energy demands on small mammals. A cold-exposed animal has been suggested to be a model suitable for testing these factors. Here, we examined the changes in food intake and digestible energy intake (DEI) as measures of SusEI, thermogenic capacity and behavioral patterns in Swiss mice exposed to consecutively lower ambient temperatures from 23 to -15°C. Cold-exposed mice showed significant decreases in body mass, fat content of the carcass and body temperature, and increases in DEI compared with controls. The time spent on feeding significantly increased with decreasing temperatures, and time spent on general activity decreased following cold exposure. Resting metabolic rate, nonshivering thermogenesis and serum tri-iodothyronine levels significantly increased in mice exposed to lower temperatures in comparison with controls, whereas these thermogenic variables were not significantly different between 0 and -15°C. It might suggest that SusEI in cold exposed Swiss mice was constrained peripherally by the capacity to produce heat and also by the ability to dissipate body heat, but to a different extent. Moderate cold exposure might result in a relaxation of the heat dissipation limit (HDL), allowing the animals to increase food intake to meet cold stress. When animals are exposed to severe cold, the thermogenenic capacity might reach a ceiling, failing to compensate for the heat loss and which would finally result in lower body temperature and considerable weight loss. This might indicate that the HDL was set at a higher level than peripheral limits for Swiss mice exposed to a consecutive decrease in ambient temperatures.

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Section: Behaviorsupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

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The energy budget, thermogenic capacity and behavior in Swiss mice exposed to a consecutive decrease in temperatures

Zhao

Chi

Cao

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…The area occupied by a colony, number of discrete food patches and number of burrow 315 entrances could have potentially influenced food access and hence foraging, total distance 316 travelled for foraging, and burrow maintenance (Schwaibold and Pillay 2006). Therefore, 317 colony area was calculated using the 95% minimum convex polygon (MCP) method in 318…”

Section: Introduction 63mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The number of burrow entrances was counted 333 when the colony was delineated using the markers. The ratio of adult females to males in each colony was calculated, because greater 335 foraging rates are expected for females in summer to meet the energetic demands imposed by 336 pregnancy and lactation (Schwaibold and Pillay 2006 …”

Section: Introduction 63mentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural correlates of group size and group persistence in the African ice rat Otomys sloggetti robertsi

Pillay

Rymer

2017

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Torpor and basking in a small arid zone marsupial

Warnecke

Turner

Geiser

2007

Naturwissenschaften

115

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The high energetic cost associated with endothermic rewarming from torpor is widely seen as a major disadvantage of torpor. We tested the hypothesis that small arid zone marsupials, which have limited access to energy in the form of food but ample access to solar radiation, employ basking to facilitate arousal from torpor and reduce the costs of rewarming. We investigated torpor patterns and basking behaviour in free-ranging fat-tailed dunnarts Sminthopsis crassicaudata (10 g) in autumn and winter using small, internal temperature-sensitive transmitters. Torpid animals emerged from their resting sites in cracking soil at approximately 1000 h with body temperatures as low as 14.6 degrees C and positioned themselves in the sun throughout the rewarming process. On average, torpor duration in autumn was shorter, and basking was less pronounced in autumn than in winter. These are the first observations of basking during rewarming in S. crassicaudata and only the second direct evidence of basking in a torpid mammal for the reduction of energetic costs during arousal from torpor and normothermia. Our findings suggest that although overlooked in the past, basking may be widely distributed amongst heterothermic mammals. Therefore, the energetic benefits from torpor use in wild animals may currently be underestimated.

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Behavioral strategies of the African ice rat Otomys sloggetti robertsi in the cold

Cited by 34 publications

References 41 publications

The energy budget, thermogenic capacity and behavior in Swiss mice exposed to a consecutive decrease in temperatures

The energy budget, thermogenic capacity and behavior in Swiss mice exposed to a consecutive decrease in temperatures

Behavioural correlates of group size and group persistence in the African ice rat Otomys sloggetti robertsi

Torpor and basking in a small arid zone marsupial

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