Nest insulation: Energy savings to brown lemmings using a winter nest

Casey, Timothy M.

doi:10.1007/bf00348038

Cited by 32 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…We assumed that lemmings place their winter nests in their preferred habitat, at least in terms of maximizing the energetic benefits of the nest, and therefore that nest density is a good measure of habitat use. This line of thinking was supported by studies documenting the high value of winter nests for lemming energetics (Chappell 1980;Casey 1981). Sometimes, brown lemmings and tundra voles made winter nest structures in hummocky vegetation, notably E. angustifolium tussocks in Yukon.…”

Section: Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…All species live in insulative burrows in the ground or in vegetation (e.g., Eriophorum tussocks) as long as access is not blocked by ice. Under a cover of snow, they frequently build nests of sedge, grass and other vegetation at ground level or slightly up in the snow column, and these nests provide essential insulation against below-freezing temperatures for resting individuals (MacLean et al 1974;Fuller et al 1975a;Casey 1981). Remaining active all winter, these rodents can reproduce under the snow with litters raised in winter nests (Krebs 1964;Fuller et al 1975b;Krebs et al 1995;Duchesne et al 2011a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Lemming winter habitat choice: a snow-fencing experiment

et al. 2011

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The insulative value of early and deep winter snow is thought to enhance winter reproduction and survival by arctic lemmings (Lemmus and Dicrostonyx spp). This leads to the general hypothesis that landscapes with persistently low lemming population densities, or low amplitude population fluctuations, have a low proportion of the land base with deep snow. We experimentally tested a component of this hypothesis, that snow depth influences habitat choice, at three Canadian Arctic sites: Bylot Island, Nunavut; Herschel Island, Yukon; Komakuk Beach, Yukon. We used snow fencing to enhance snow depth on 9-ha tundra habitats, and measured the intensity of winter use of these and control areas by counting rodent winter nests in spring. At all three sites, the density of winter nests increased in treated areas compared to control areas after the treatment, and remained higher on treated areas during the treatment. The treatment was relaxed at one site, and winter nest density returned to pre-treatment levels. The rodents' proportional use of treated areas compared to adjacent control areas increased and remained higher during the treatment. At two of three sites, lemmings and voles showed significant attraction to the areas of deepest snow accumulation closest to the fences. The strength of the treatment effect appeared to depend on how quickly the ground level temperature regime became stable in autumn, coincident with snow depths near the hiemal threshold. Our results provide strong support for the hypothesis that snow depth is a primary determinant of winter habitat choice by tundra lemmings and voles.

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Section: Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Lemming winter habitat choice: a snow-fencing experiment

et al. 2011

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“…Most burrows contain nest chambers lined with plant material or fur. In general, their main role is to insulate animals from ambient temperatures (Casey 1981) and may also serve as protection from predators or as food storage (Reichman and Smith 1990). The energy conservation that can be achieved through nest building is considered crucial (Geiser 1988;Houston and McNamara 1993;Redman et al 1999;Lovegrove et al 2001;McCafferty et al 2003;Bethge et al 2004) or even critical for winter survival (Barclay et al 2001;Pinowski et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contribution of the vegetable material layer to the insulation capacities and water proofing of artificial Mus spicilegus mounds

et al. 2012

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a b s t r a c tSuccessful overwintering of small mammals in temperate and cold climates requires behavioural and physiological adaptations. There are several strategies to survive food shortages and the cold. Most species of small mammals use multiple methods simultaneously but nest building and burrowing are the most widespread among them. A well-constructed, dry nest insulates animals from harsh ambient conditions. Mound-building mice build large banks in the autumn and establish a burrow system with nest chambers beneath them. These overwintering structures are built from soil and a considerable amount of plant material. Recent studies presume that the stored vegetable matter does not, or not exclusively, serve as food and indicate that the mounds might have insulating role. To investigate the function of their plant fill, we built artificial mounds with varying plant content, similar to those built by mound-building mice. We measured temperature change at three levels, at the surface, under the mound and at the nest depth, and investigated their water retaining properties. We showed that the plant fill plays a major role in their thermal insulation and waterproofing properties. Mounds reduced temperature variation of the soil and may protect the nest from absorbing precipitation during the winter.

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“…This requirement is compounded during the coldest seasons, when metabolic demand is at its peak, and food availability is typically at its lowest. Endotherms living in seasonally cold climates have evolved various strategies to successfully cope with the energetic stress of winter, such as building insulated nests (Casey, 1981), increasing both fur (Hart, 1956) and fat insulation (Young, 1976), and caching food (Smith and Reichman, 1984). Other strategies aim to avoid the stress altogether, such as migrating to warmer, calorie-rich environments (Hill et al, 2008).…”

Section: δAmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are long chain acyl CoAs responsible for suppression of mitochondrial metabolism in hibernating 13-lined ground squirrels?

Cooper

Brown

Staples

2014

Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry an

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I found 44% suppression of succinate-fuelled liver mitochondrial respiration in torpid 13-lined ground squirrels compared to interbout euthermia (IBE). Palmitoyl CoA, predicted to suppress respiration by inhibiting succinate transport at the dicarboxylate transporter (DCT), reduced respiration by ~70%, while butylmalonate, a known inhibitor of the DCT, only inhibited respiration by ~40%. In both cases inhibition of respiration proportionally affected both torpid and IBE mitochondria, suggesting that the DCT is likely not already inhibited in torpid mitochondria. The addition of carnitine, predicted to reverse suppression by facilitating transport of palmitoyl CoA into the mitochondrial matrix, had no rescuing effect on the respiration rates of mitochondria treated with palmitoyl CoA, nor did it increase the respiration rate of torpid mitochondria. Though palmitoyl CoA inhibits succinate-fuelled respiration, suppression may not be exclusively related to inhibition of succinate transport at the DCT, and is likely inhibiting additional mitochondrial transporters such as the adenine-nucleotide transporter.

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Nest insulation: Energy savings to brown lemmings using a winter nest

Cited by 32 publications

References 27 publications

Lemming winter habitat choice: a snow-fencing experiment

Lemming winter habitat choice: a snow-fencing experiment

The contribution of the vegetable material layer to the insulation capacities and water proofing of artificial Mus spicilegus mounds

Are long chain acyl CoAs responsible for suppression of mitochondrial metabolism in hibernating 13-lined ground squirrels?

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