Evaporative water loss and water turnover in chronically and acutely water-restricted spiny mice (acomys cahirinus)

Daily, Carol S; Haines, Howard

doi:10.1016/0300-9629(81)90061-x

Cited by 14 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Acomys show evidence of other mechanisms to prevent water loss, which is a major concern in their arid environment. They can rapidly regulate their evaporative water loss to about 14% (which is much lower than the 30-40% typical for mammals) 24 . Because the costs of thermoregulation are reduced when sharing body heat within their social group, this is also considered a possible mechanism to describe A. cahirinus' extremely social nature 22,23 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of sleep and diurnal patterns in house mouse (Mus musculus) and Spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus)

Wang

Guerriero

Huffman

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Most published sleep studies use three species: human, house mouse, or Norway rat. The degree to which data from these species captures variability in mammalian sleep remains unclear. To gain insight into mammalian sleep diversity, we examined sleep architecture in the spiny basal murid rodent Acomys cahirinus. First, we used a piezoelectric system validated for Mus musculus to monitor sleep in both species. We also included wild M. musculus to control for alterations generated by laboratoryreared conditions for M. musculus. Using this comparative framework, we found that A. cahirinus, lab M. musculus, and wild M. musculus were primarily nocturnal, but exhibited distinct behavioral patterns. Although the activity of A. cahirinus increased sharply at dark onset, it decreased sharply just two hours later under group and individual housing conditions. To further characterize sleep patterns and sleep-related variables, we set up EEG/EMG and video recordings and found that A. cahirinus sleep significantly more than M. musculus, exhibit nearly three times more REM, and sleep almost exclusively with their eyes open. The observed differences in A. cahirinus sleep architecture raise questions about the evolutionary drivers of sleep behavior. Of the approximately 6,400 extant mammalian species 1 , sleep data has been gathered on only about 70 2 , leaving many unknowns about the variation of mammalian sleep. Of these 70 species, sleep has been detailed extensively only in three (with thousands of publications each): humans, house mice (Mus musculus), and Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus). The detailed examination of sleep architecture in other mammalian and non-model species is important to understand the common features and possible functions of sleep, as well as to identify unusual features that some species may have evolved in specific environments 3. In order to make these comparisons between species, the common features of sleep must be noted first. Sleep has been defined with several criteria: rapid reversibility, decreased sensory responsiveness, and species-specific sleep posture 4. This definition extends to all animals that have been determined to have sleep behaviors, not just mammals. Sleep can then be further subdivided using physiological measures. As determined with traditional electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG), mammals typically begin sleep with an increase in amplitude and slowing of the EEG, and a decrease in muscle tone 5 as compared to wake, and have two very different kinds of sleep: REM (rapid-eyemovement) and non-REM (NREM). In humans, NREM is separated into various stages (N1, N2, N3), which may or may not exist in other mammals to varying degrees. By completing comparative studies of sleep and circadian rhythms and noting unique phenomena, there are opportunities for determining the physiological basis or adaptive functions of specific sleep or circadian behaviors. To better understand sleep diversity among murid rodents, we aimed to characterize sleep and wake in A. cahirinus, a ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of sleep and diurnal patterns in house mouse (Mus musculus) and Spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus)

Wang

Guerriero

Huffman

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Members of the genus Acomys are omnivorous rodents that require relatively more water (Degen et aI., 1986;Shkolnik and Borut, 1969). In addition, evaporative water loss of A. cahirinus is relatively high compared to other desert rodents, including gerbils (Daily and Haines, 1981;Shkolnik and Borut, 1969). It appears from the present study that the water requirements of G. dasyurus was lower than that of A. cahirinus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Water Intake in Two Coexisting Desert Rodents, Acomys cahirinus and Gerbillus dasyurus

Degen

Kam

1992

Journal of Mammalogy

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The common spiny mouse, Acornys cahirinus (X body mass = 48 g), and Wagner's gerbil, Gerbillus dasyurus (X body mass = 33 g), are omnivorous Old World rodents that coexist in rocky habitats in the deserts of Israel. They differ in their diets in that A. cahirinus consumes proportionately more snails and animal matter than G. dasyurus and G. dasyurus consumes proportionately more seeds than A. cahirinus. Rodents were offered seeds and either water ad lib., ca. 50% of ad lib. total water intake, or denied water. Both species were able to maintain steady state body mass on both ad lib. and 50% ad lib. water. Furthermore, both species lost body mass when denied water. However, the daily rate of loss of body mass of G. dasyurus was slower than that of A. cahirinus both in absolute (0.72 and 1.72 g) and in relative (10.9 and 21.9% body mass/g

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“…Because oftheir niche, Acomys have been studied often in order to understand strategies of temperature and water regulation (Borut, Horowitz, & Castel , 1972;Daily & Haines, 1981;Haines & Schmidt-Nielsen, 1977;Horowitz & Borut, 1970;Shkolnik & Borut, 1969). They have several mechanisms for retaining water.…”

Section: Special Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They have several mechanisms for retaining water. For example , typical mammals living in nonar id areas obligate 30%-40% oftotal water tumover to evaporative water loss , whereas in Acomys the figure is closer to 14% (Daily & Haines, 1981). Acomys is also able to rapidly regu1ate its physiology in the face of dehydration.…”

Section: Special Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, A. russatus is better able than A. cahirinus to regu1ate its body temperature in respon se to heat stress , and is also better ab1e to use salty solutions (Shkolnik & Borut, 1969). Acomys is reported to be in the midd1e of the expected range for small desert rnamrnals, with other species whose diets are restricted mostly to seeds exhibiting even more extreme physiological regulation (Daily & Haines, 1981). Resting oxygen consurnption is low, approximate1y 0.64 ml Ozlg/h, as compared with 1.27 ml in Mus musculus (Wise , 1977).…”

Section: Special Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The precocial mouse, Acomys cahirinus

Brunjes

1990

Psychobiology

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Acomys cahirinus (the "spiny mouse") is a member ofthe same rodent subfamily as the laboratory rat and mouse. Acomys differs from the laboratory species in several ways, including the fact that it is adapted to a semiarid lifestyle and is born after a long gestation with functional sensory and motor systems. The existing, and quite dispersed, literature on the anatomy, physiology, and behavior of Acomys is briefly reviewed.Acomys cahirinus (calIed the "spiny mouse" because of the bristly fur covering the rump area) has been used increasingly in psychobiological studies. Acomys, the laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus), and mouse (Mus musculus) are all members ofthe same rodent subfamily (Murinae). However, the species have quite different adaptations, physiologies, and behaviors. Perhaps the most striking differences are in their early life histories. Acomys, a precocial mammal, is born after a relatively long gestation (39 days using the day after conception as Embryonie Day I, or EI) with open ears and eyes and quite sophisticated sensory and motor capabilities. The rat and mouse are altricial species: they have shorter gestations (22 and 20 days, respectively), larger litter sizes, and are born considerably less mature (Figure 1). The result is an almost unique opportunity to compare developmental processes in phylogenetically related yet ontogenetically divergent species (see Dieterlen, 1963, for a discussion of uniforrnity in developmental patterns within the mammalian group). Comparative studies of the species might lead to a better understanding of the ways in which developmental patterns can be modified, and how the functional abilities of species change as a result. The following review briefly examines what is known about Acomys on evolutionary, ethological, neurological, and behaviorallevels (Dieterlen, 1961;D'Udine & Alleva, 1988). PHYLOGENY SystematicsLittle agreement exists on the exact number of species contained in the genus Acomys. While Dieterlen (1963) suggested there may be as many as 27 species, Corbet and Hili (1986) listed 9

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Evaporative water loss and water turnover in chronically and acutely water-restricted spiny mice (acomys cahirinus)

Cited by 14 publications

References 28 publications

A comparative study of sleep and diurnal patterns in house mouse (Mus musculus) and Spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus)

A comparative study of sleep and diurnal patterns in house mouse (Mus musculus) and Spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus)

Water Intake in Two Coexisting Desert Rodents, Acomys cahirinus and Gerbillus dasyurus

The precocial mouse, Acomys cahirinus

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