Hibernation and daily torpor in Australian mammals

Geiser, Fritz; Körtner, Gerhard

doi:10.7882/az.2010.009

Cited by 64 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…In addition, some biological characteristics such as the ability to save energy efficiently during hibernation could shape the response of hibernating species to climate change. For instance, small‐sized hibernating species with reduced fat reserve capacity, such as some bat species (Humphries, Thomas & Speakman ; Rebelo, Tarroso & Jones ), the pygmy‐possum ( Burramys parvus , Geiser & Körtner ) or the hazel dormouse ( Muscardinus avellanarius , Pretzlaff & Dausmann ), are expected to suffer from an increase in winter harshness because of a dramatic increase in energy depletion during hibernation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socially mediated effects of climate change decrease survival of hibernating Alpine marmots

Rézouki

Tafani

Cohas

et al. 2016

Journal of Animal Ecology

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In the context of global change, an increasing challenge is to understand the interaction between weather variables and life histories. Species-specific life histories should condition the way climate influences population dynamics, particularly those that are associated with environmental constraints, such as lifestyles like hibernation and sociality. However, the influence of lifestyle in the response of organisms to climate change remains poorly understood. Based on a 23-year longitudinal study on Alpine marmots, we investigated how their lifestyle, characterized by a long hibernation and a high degree of sociality, interacts with the ongoing climate change to shape temporal variation in age-specific survival. As generally reported in other hibernating species, we expected survival of Alpine marmots to be affected by the continuous lengthening of the growing season of plants more than by changes in winter conditions. We found, however, that Alpine marmots displayed lower juvenile survival over time. Colder winters associated with a thinner snow layer lowered juvenile survival, which in turn was associated with a decrease in the relative number of helpers in groups the following years, and therefore lowered the chances of over-winter survival of juveniles born in the most recent years. Our results provide evidence that constraints on life-history traits associated with hibernation and sociality caused juvenile survival to decrease over time, which might prevent Alpine marmots coping successfully with climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socially mediated effects of climate change decrease survival of hibernating Alpine marmots

Rézouki

Tafani

Cohas

et al. 2016

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…1). These regions have the highest number of species exhibiting daily torpor, what allows animals to reduce their energy expenditure during the dry season (Lovegrove 2000, Geiser & Körtner 2010. The grey mouse lemur Microcebus murinus is one of the small tropical mammals intensively studied for its use of heterothermy during the lean season.…”

Section: Daily Heterothermymentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive phenotypic plasticity and resilience of vertebrates to increasing climatic unpredictability

Canale¹,

Henry²

2010

Clim. Res.

134

115

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As ecosystems undergo global changes, there is increasing interest in understanding how organisms respond to changing environments. Recent evidence drawn from available vertebrate studies suggests that most of the phenotypic responses to climate change would be due to plasticity. We hypothesize that organisms that have evolved in unpredictable environments inform us about the mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity which provide an adaptive response to climate instability. As climate changes increase climatic hazards, these resilience mechanisms are expected to spread within species, populations and communities. We review studies that have demonstrated the importance of phenotypic plasticity in different life-history traits in overcoming climate uncertainty. We focus on organisms from unstable, recurrently energetically restrictive environments which possess a variety of morphological, physiological and/or behavioural adaptations to climate-driven selective pressures. First, we treat plastic morphological changes in response to fluctuating food availability. Adjustment of morphometric traits and/or organ size to energy supply would be essential in harsh environments. Second, we review the role of flexible energy-saving mechanisms, such as daily torpor, hibernation and energy storage, in overcoming climate-driven energetic shortages. Lastly, we address the role of plastic modulation of reproduction in fine-tuning the energy allocation to offspring production according to environmental conditions, with an emphasis on opportunistic breeding. Overall, we predict that species (or genotypes) possessing these efficient physiological mechanisms of resilience to unpredictable water and food fluctuations will be selectively advantaged in the face of increasing climatic instability.

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“…The over-winter survival of hibernating bats depends on the quantity of energy that animals store prior to hibernation, the rate of depletion of these reserves and the duration of winter (Humphries et al, 2002). The decline in metabolic rate (MR) and body temperature (T b ) of a bat during hibernation enables a significant reduction of usage of nutrients and water, enhancing the probability of survival (Geiser and Koertner, 2010). Hibernation is not a constant state of reduced T b and MR; rather, it comprises bouts of torpor interspersed with periods of arousal, when the animal returns to its normothermic T b and MR (French, 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Waking to drink: rates of evaporative water loss determine arousal frequency in hibernating bats

Ben-Hamo

Muñoz‐Garcia

Williams

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYBats hibernate to cope with low ambient temperatures (T a ) and low food availability during winter. However, hibernation is frequently interrupted by arousals, when bats increase body temperature (T b ) and metabolic rate (MR) to normothermic levels. Arousals account for more than 85% of a batʼs winter energy expenditure. This has been associated with variation in T b , T a or both, leading to a single testable prediction, i.e. that torpor bout length (TBL) is negatively correlated with T a and T b . T a and T b were both found to be correlated with TBL, but correlations alone cannot establish a causal link between arousal and T b or T a . Because hydration state has also been implicated in arousals from hibernation, we hypothesized that water loss during hibernation creates the need in bats to arouse to drink. We measured TBL of bats (Pipistrellus kuhlii) at the same T a but under different conditions of humidity, and found an inverse relationship between TBL and total evaporative water loss, independent of metabolic rate, which directly supports the hypothesis that hydration state is a cue to arousal in bats.

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Hibernation and daily torpor in Australian mammals

Cited by 64 publications

References 94 publications

Socially mediated effects of climate change decrease survival of hibernating Alpine marmots

Socially mediated effects of climate change decrease survival of hibernating Alpine marmots

Adaptive phenotypic plasticity and resilience of vertebrates to increasing climatic unpredictability

Waking to drink: rates of evaporative water loss determine arousal frequency in hibernating bats

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