Effects of temperature and photoperiod on thermogenesis in plateau pikas ( Ochotona curzoniae ) and root voles ( Microtus oeconomus )

Wang, D.; Sun, Rong; Wang, Z.; Liu, Jingpeng

doi:10.1007/s003600050196

Cited by 56 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Both obligatory and adaptive thermogenesis (RMR and NST) are commonly employed in response to acute cold stress in small mammals living in temperate area (Heldmaier, 1971;Heldmaier and Buchberger, 1985;Hammond and Wunder, 1995;Wang et al, 1999;Li et al, 2001;Hammond and Kristan, 2000;Zhang and Wang, 2006;Zhang and Wang, 2007). In the present study RMR, NST max and NST generally increased with consecutively lower ambient temperatures, whereas the difference in NST max and NST were not statistically different between 8 and -15°C.…”

Section: Thermoregulation and Thermogenesissupporting

confidence: 39%

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Thermoregulation and Thermogenesissupporting

confidence: 39%

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Through UCP1-mediated proton leakage from the mitochondrial respiratory chain, energy that is derived from metabolic fuels is dissipated as heat (Nicholls and Locke 1984;Krauss et al 2005), which, in turn, is essential for eVective thermoregulation in small mammals (Argyropoulus and Harper 2002). It has been found that many small mammals showed enhanced NST (Rafael et al 1985a;Merritt and Zegers 1991;JeWmow et al 2004) associated with increased BAT mass, mitochondrial protein (MP) concentrations, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity, and UCP1 mRNA level and protein expression in winter conditions (Rafael et al 1985b;Wang et al 1999;Li et al 2001;Li and Wang 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Seasonal thermogenesis and body mass regulation in plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae)

2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Changes in photoperiod, ambient temperature and food availability trigger seasonal acclimatization in physiology and behavior of many animals. In the present study, seasonal adjustments in body mass and in several physiological, hormonal, and biochemical markers were examined in wild-captured plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) from the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Our results showed that plateau pikas maintained a relatively constant body mass throughout the year and showed no seasonal changes in body fat mass and circulating levels of serum leptin. However, nonshivering thermogenesis, cytochrome c oxidase activity, and mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) contents in brown adipose tissues were significantly enhanced in winter. Further, serum leptin levels were positively correlated with body mass and body fat mass while negatively correlated with UCP1 contents. Together, these data suggest that plateau pikas mainly depend on increasing thermogenic capacities, rather than decreasing body mass, to cope with cold, and leptin may play a potential role in their thermogenesis and body mass regulation.

show abstract

“…LCT is often season and acclimatization dependent (McDevitt and Speakman 1994, Marchand 1996). Exposure to cold increases the metabolic rate in non-hibernating small mammals (Wang et al 1999, Cichon et al 2002 and it decreases immunocompetence (Cichon et al 2002). We hypothesized that compared to cool but stable temperature (6 C), fluctuating cool temperatures (1 C -12 C) could be even more challenging for small animals, due to the constant adjustment in thermoregulation it requires.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex‐specific variation in the onset of reproduction and reproductive trade‐offs in a boreal small mammal

Sipari

Haapakoski

Klemme

et al. 2014

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The global climate change is predicted to cause notable alterations in winter conditions in northern areas. This raises many questions about its possible consequences on northern species and ecosystems. In many areas the time period with an intact snow cover is about to get shorter or even vanish altogether. As the overwintering success of many small mammals is strongly dependent on the protection provided by the snow cover against severe weather conditions and predation, it is obvious that these kinds of environmental alterations should affect the overwintering physiology and behavior, as well as the initiation of breeding after winter. In this thesis I have studied the winter ecology of a small boreal rodent species, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), and the possible consequences of climate change on the physiology, behavior and onset of reproduction in this species. I conducted four experiments under laboratory (II-IV) and semi-natural conditions (I, III). One of my experiments was purely methodological (IV), providing me with validated and accurate endocrinological study methods, and thereby enabling my other experiments. I found that the sex-ratio of the overwintering population affects the physiology and behavior of bank voles and thus, leads to divergent overwintering strategies (I). I was also able to show that the changing winter conditions related to climate change alter the circadian activity pattern and possibly even the anti-predator behavior of this species (II). Further, my studies showed contrasting sex differences in the response to environmental cues regulating the onset of reproduction after winter (III). In case of rapid environmental changes, this could lead to a reproductive mismatch between the sexes and thus, strongly affect fitness. The results of my thesis provide new information about the overwintering mechanisms of a winter-active small boreal rodent, and may help us to predict some of the possible consequences of climate change on northern boreal ecosystems.Keywords: Climate change; overwintering; onset of reproduction; physiology; behavior, predation risk. Science, P.O. Box 35, Saana Sipari, University of Jyväskylä, Department of Biological and Environmental LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONSThe thesis is based on the following original papers, which will be referred to in the text by their Roman numerals I-IV. ISipari, S., Haapakoski, M., Klemme, I., Palme, R., Sundell, J., Ylönen, H. Population sex-ratio affecting behavior and physiology of overwintering bank voles (Myodes glareolus). Manuscript. Writing*: I was the main writer in all articles (I-IV), but all authors named in the respective studies contributed to the writing with several comments and notations. INTRODUCTIONSeasonality plays an essential role in the life histories of many species, affecting their physiology, behavior, reproduction and survival. The strongest seasonality occurs in high latitude areas, like the Arctic and boreal regions, where spring, summer, autumn and winter all represent distinct periods in t...

show abstract

Effects of temperature and photoperiod on thermogenesis in plateau pikas ( Ochotona curzoniae ) and root voles ( Microtus oeconomus )

Cited by 56 publications

References 27 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

Seasonal thermogenesis and body mass regulation in plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae)

Sex‐specific variation in the onset of reproduction and reproductive trade‐offs in a boreal small mammal

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About