Effect of body weight, ambient temperature and huddling on oxygen consumption and body temperature of young mice

Stanier, Margaret W.

doi:10.1016/0300-9629(75)90416-8

Cited by 37 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Second, the heat produced by BAT may play a role in guiding the contact behavior of individuals in the huddle; the importance of thermal stimuli for guiding the behavior of infants has been well documented (Alberts, 1978b;Alberts & Brunjes, 1979;Alberts & May, 1984). Contact behavior among heat-producing littermates is advantageous as it retards heat loss and thereby lowers the metabolic demands of cold exposure (Alberts, 1978a;Schmidt, Barone, & Carlisle, 1986;Stanier, 1975).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Competition and cooperation among huddling infant rats

Sokoloff

Blumberg

2001

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Huddling is expressed by infant rats and continues to be an important behavior throughout adulthood. As a form of behavioral thermoregulation, huddling is thought to play an essential role in compensating for inadequate physiological thermoregulation early in development. Infant rats, however, are capable of heat production shortly after birth using brown adipose tissue (BAT) and exhibit thermogenesis in the huddle, suggesting that huddling does not obviate the need for endothermy during cold exposure. In the present experiment, 4-pup huddles of infant rats (2- or 8-day-olds) were exposed to two subthermoneutral temperatures, and BAT thermogenesis was inhibited in 0, 2, or 4 of the rats in each huddle. Inhibition of BAT thermogenesis compromised the pups' ability to maintain huddle temperature, but surprisingly did not result in enhanced huddling at either age. These results suggest that effective huddling during cold exposure requires the thermal resources provided by endothermy. Furthermore, the heat provided by BAT appears to shape behavioral interactions in the huddle during development.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Competition and cooperation among huddling infant rats

Sokoloff

Blumberg

2001

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Pioneering studies suggested that huddling is the key factor for emperor penguins to protect themselves against cold and lower their energy expenditure in order to survive their 4-month breeding fast during the Antarctic winter (Cendron, 1952;Stonehouse, 1953;Prévost, 1961). Similarly, many studies on small mammals support the view that huddling efficiently decreases metabolic heat production and maintenance cost by 10-40% (Pearson, 1960;Gorecki, 1968;Gebczynski, 1969;Gebczynska, 1970;Fedyk, 1971;Tertil, 1972;Glaser and Lustick, 1975;Stanier, 1975;Alberts, 1978;Martin et al, 1980;Andrews and Belknap, 1986;Yahav and Buffenstein, 1991;Perret, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…A 5°C increase in ambient temperature caused by huddling short-tailed field voles Microtus agrestis accounted for 55% of the energetic benefits during huddling (Hayes et al, 1992). A third mechanism explaining energy savings relies on adjustments in body temperatures of huddling animals (Vickery and Millar, 1984): huddling mammals and birds maintain a higher and more constant body temperature than isolated ones, suggesting that huddling is used as a warming mechanism (Stanier, 1975;Howell, 1976;Alberts, 1978;Andrews et al, 1987;Yahav and Buffenstein, 1991;Boix-Hinzen and Lovegrove, 1998;McKechnie and Lovegrove, 2001;Bautista et al, 2003;Cutrera et al, 2003). However, other biological models lower their body temperature during huddling bouts, presumably allowing them to maximize their energy savings through a reduction of their metabolic heat production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy saving processes in huddling emperor penguins: from experiments to theory

Gilbert

Blanc

Maho

et al. 2008

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryThis paper investigates the energy savings of male emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri linked to their huddling behaviour, the key factor that allows them to assume their incubating task while undergoing a long fast. Drawing on new studies by our team, this review examines the energetic benefits accrued from huddling and estimates the respective contributions of wind protection, exposure to mild ambient temperatures, reduction in cold-exposed body surfaces and body temperature adjustments in these energy savings. The metabolic rate of ʻloosely groupedʼ birds (restrained in small groups of 5-10 individuals, which are unable to huddle effectively) is reduced by 39% compared to metabolic rate of ʻisolatedʼ birds, with 32% of these energetic benefits due to wind protection. In addition, metabolic rate of ʻfree-rangingʼ emperors, i.e. able to move freely and to huddle, is on average 21% lower than that of ʻloosely groupedʼ birds. Exposure to mild ambient temperatures within the groups and reduction in coldexposed body surfaces while huddling, though overestimated, would represent a 38% metabolic reduction. About two thirds of metabolic lowering is attributable to the reduction in cold-exposed body surfaces and one third to the mild microclimate created within the groups. Moreover, body temperature adjustments contribute to these energetic benefits: maintaining body temperatures 1°C lower would represent a 7-17% reduction in energy expenditure. These processes, linked together, explain how huddling emperors save energy and maintain a constant body temperature, which ensures a successful incubation in the midst of the austral winter.

show abstract

“…Such an effect has often been recorded in the laboratory for individuals of several rodent families, including Bathyergidae (Heterocephalus glaber -Withers and Jarvis 1980), Muridae (Abrothrix andinus, Abrothrix lanosus - Canals et al 1997;Apodemus agrarius -Tertil 1972;Apodemus flavicollis -Fedyk 1971;Clethrionomys glareolus -Górecki 1968, Gêbczyñski 1969, Gêbczyñska and Gêbczyñski 1971Eligmodontia typus -Canals et al 1997;Meriones unguiculatus -Contreras 1984;Mus musculus -Prychodko 1958, Stanier 1975, Martin et al 1980, Contreras 1984Microtus townsendiiAndrews et al 1987;Ochrotomys nuttali -Springer et al 1981; Ondatra zibethicusBazin and MacArthur 1992; Peromyscus leucopus - Glaser andLustick 1975, Vogt andLynch 1982;Peromyscus maniculatus -Andrews and Belknap 1986;Phyllotis darwini -Canals et al 1989and Reithrodontomys megalotis -Pearson 1960), Myocastoridae (Myocastor coypus - Moinard et al 1992), Octodontidae (Octodon degus - Canals et al 1989), and Sciuridae (Ammospermophilus leucurus Karasov 1983;Glaucomys volans -Stapp et al 1991).…”

Section: The Social Thermoregulation Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living

Ebensperger

2001

Acta Theriol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ebensperger L. A. 2001. A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living. Acta Theriologica 46: 115-144.I analyze and summarize the empirical evidence supporting alternative hypotheses posed to explain the evolution of rodent group-living. Eight hypotheses are considered: two rely on net fitness benefits to individuals, five rely on ecological and life-history constraints, and one uses elements of both. I expose the logic behind each hypothesis, identify its key predictions, examine how the available evidence on rodent socioecology supports or rejects its predictions, and identify some priorities for future research. I show that empirical support for most hypotheses is meager due to a lack of relevant studies. Also, empirical support for a particular hypothesis, when it exists, comes from studies of the same species used to formulate the original hypothesis. Two exceptions are the hypothesis that individual rodents live in groups to reduce their predation risk and the hypothesis that group-living was adopted by individuals to reduce their cost of thermoregulation. Finally, most hypotheses have been examined without regard to competing hypotheses and often in a restricted taxonomic context. This is clearly an unfortunate situation given that most competing hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. I suggest that in the future comparative approaches should be used. These studies should examine simultaneously the relevance of different benefits and constraints hypothesized to explain the evolution of rodent sociality.

show abstract

Effect of body weight, ambient temperature and huddling on oxygen consumption and body temperature of young mice

Cited by 37 publications

References 4 publications

Competition and cooperation among huddling infant rats

Competition and cooperation among huddling infant rats

Energy saving processes in huddling emperor penguins: from experiments to theory

A review of the evolutionary causes of rodent group-living

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About