Torpor in the Carnivorous Marsupial Sminthopsis macroura: Effects of Food Quality and Quantity

Withers, Kerry; White, Debra H.; Billingsley, John

doi:10.1007/978-3-662-04162-8_14

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

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“…Mouse lemurs experience large variations in environmental conditions (Song and Geiser, 1997; Withers et al, 2000). During the cold and dry winter season, resources are limited, which contrasts with the breeding season during the hot summer season.…”

Section: Influence Of Environmental Factors On Mouse Lemur Circadian mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Biological Clock in Gray Mouse Lemur: Adaptive, Evolutionary and Aging Considerations in an Emerging Non-human Primate Model

et al. 2019

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Circadian rhythms, which measure time on a scale of 24 h, are genetically generated by the circadian clock, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of almost every physiological and metabolic process in most organisms. This review gathers all the available information about the circadian clock in a small Malagasy primate, the gray mouse lemur ( Microcebus murinus ), and reports 30 years data from the historical colony at Brunoy (France). Although the mouse lemur has long been seen as a “primitive” species, its clock displays high phenotypic plasticity, allowing perfect adaptation of its biological rhythms to environmental challenges (seasonality, food availability). The alterations of the circadian timing system in M. murinus during aging show many similarities with those in human aging. Comparisons are drawn with other mammalian species (more specifically, with rodents, other non-human primates and humans) to demonstrate that the gray mouse lemur is a good complementary and alternative model for studying the circadian clock and, more broadly, brain aging and pathologies.

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Section: Influence Of Environmental Factors On Mouse Lemur Circadian mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Biological Clock in Gray Mouse Lemur: Adaptive, Evolutionary and Aging Considerations in an Emerging Non-human Primate Model

et al. 2019

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Factors affecting the daily rhythm of body temperature of captive mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus)

Séguy

Perret

2004

J Comp Physiol B

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Microcebus murinus, a small nocturnal Malagasy primate, exhibits adaptive energy-saving strategies such as daily hypothermia and gregarious patterns during diurnal rest. To determine whether ambient temperature (T(a)), food restriction and nest sharing can modify the daily body temperature (T(b)) rhythm, T(b) was recorded by telemetry during winter in six males exposed to different ambient temperatures (T(a) = 25, 20, 15 degrees C) and/or to a total food restriction for 3 days depending on social condition (isolated versus pair-grouped). At 25 degrees C, the daily rhythm of T(b) was characterized by high T(b) values during the night and lower values during the day. Exposure to cold significantly decreased minimal T(b) values and lengthened the daily hypothermia. Under food restriction, minimal T(b) values were also markedly lowered. The combination of food restriction and cold induced further increases in duration and depth of torpor bouts, minimal T(b) reaching a level just above T(a). Although it influenced daily hypothermia less than environmental factors, nest sharing modified effects of cold and food restriction previously observed by lengthening duration of torpor but without increasing its depth. In response to external conditions, mouse lemurs may thus adjust their energy expenditures through daily modifications of both the duration and the depth of torpor.

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Field evidence for a proximate role of food shortage in the regulation of hibernation and daily torpor: a review

Vuarin

Henry

2014

J Comp Physiol B

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Hibernation and daily torpor (heterothermy) have long been assumed to be adaptive responses to seasonal energy shortage. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that food shortage alone can trigger the use of heterothermy. However, their potential to predict heterothermic responses in the wild is limited, and few field studies demonstrate the dependence of heterothermy on food availability under natural conditions. Thus, the view of heterothermy as an energy saving strategy to compensate for food shortage largely remains an untested hypothesis. In this paper, we review published evidence on the proximate role of food availability in heterothermy regulation by endotherms, and emphasize alternative hypotheses that remain to be tested. Most studies have relied on correlative evidence. Manipulations of food availability, that demonstrate the proximate role of food availability, have been conducted in only five free-ranging heterotherms. Several other metabolic constraints covary with food availability and can confound its effect. Shortage in water availability, the nutritional composition of food, or subsequent conversion of food in fat storage all could be actual proximate drivers of heterothermy regulation, rather than food shortage. Social interactions, competition for food and predation also likely modulate the relative strength of food shortage between individuals. The ecological relevance of the dependence of heterothermy on food availability remains to be assessed in field experiments that account for the confounding effects of covarying environmental and internal factors.

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Torpor in the Carnivorous Marsupial Sminthopsis macroura: Effects of Food Quality and Quantity

Cited by 4 publications

References 27 publications

The Biological Clock in Gray Mouse Lemur: Adaptive, Evolutionary and Aging Considerations in an Emerging Non-human Primate Model

The Biological Clock in Gray Mouse Lemur: Adaptive, Evolutionary and Aging Considerations in an Emerging Non-human Primate Model

Factors affecting the daily rhythm of body temperature of captive mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus)

Field evidence for a proximate role of food shortage in the regulation of hibernation and daily torpor: a review

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