Seasonal Starvation in Northern White-Tailed Deer

Ullrey, D. E.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-29056-5_18

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 19 publications

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“…diel or seasonal) cycles or following catastrophic events. Recent examples are winter starvation in deer (Ullrey ) and death by starvation in snakes due to flood‐induced prey loss (Ujvary, Shine & Madsen ). Death by starvation as a consequence of intraspecific competition for food, as well as intraspecific differences in the ability to resist starvation, can be major factors controlling population dynamics, as has been discussed for the example of the water flea (Vanoverbeke ; Martin et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body size‐mediated starvation resistance in an insect predator

Gergs

Jager

2014

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Summary1. Individual organisms have to endure transient periods of low-food supply with consequences for growth, reproduction and survival. To resist starvation, animals usually store resources in their bodies: the larger the animals are, the more resources they can carry, but the more energy they need to allocate for maintaining bodily functions. It is unclear how survival relates to body size when food is scarce or absent, and how to characterize individual differences in survival within a population. 2. We use a dynamic energy budget (DEB) model to describe food acquisition, subsequent reserve dynamics and allocation of reserve to body maintenance, growth and maturation of an aquatic insect predator, Notonecta maculata. In a DEB context, we can assume that starvation-induced death strikes when the reserve of an organism is depleted to a certain extent. The way reserve dynamics change upon starvation might thereby influence the ability to survive in the absence of food. Moreover, individuals in a starved population do not die at the same time, even though they might be of the same body size with similar life histories. 3. To describe individual differences in starvation resistance, we link the reserve dynamics derived from the DEB model to the general unified threshold model of survival (GUTS). We tested two different special cases within GUTS, individual tolerance (IT) and stochastic death (SD), and three different starvation options for their suitability in representing experimental data on body size-related starvation resistance. 4. The DEB model reproduced laboratory data on the development of juvenile N. maculata under different food conditions well and closely predicted the weight loss of individuals during prolonged starvation. Both the combined IT-model and the combined SD-model closely fit survival for different food conditions including starvation. However, the two models make different predictions for survival under repeated transient starvation periods. Our results suggest that larger N. maculata specimens are able to resist starvation to a greater extent than smaller conspecifics. 5. The DEB model provides a mechanistic explanation for the positive relationship between body size and starvation resistance, and offers testable hypotheses for possible deviations from this general trend.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body size‐mediated starvation resistance in an insect predator

Gergs

Jager

2014

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Integrative Physiology of Fasting

Secor

Carey

2016

Comprehensive Physiology

136

144

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Extended bouts of fasting are ingrained in the ecology of many organisms, characterizing aspects of reproduction, development, hibernation, estivation, migration, and infrequent feeding habits. The challenge of long fasting episodes is the need to maintain physiological homeostasis while relying solely on endogenous resources. To meet that challenge, animals utilize an integrated repertoire of behavioral, physiological, and biochemical responses that reduce metabolic rates, maintain tissue structure and function, and thus enhance survival. We have synthesized in this review the integrative physiological, morphological, and biochemical responses, and their stages, that characterize natural fasting bouts. Underlying the capacity to survive extended fasts are behaviors and mechanisms that reduce metabolic expenditure and shift the dependency to lipid utilization. Hormonal regulation and immune capacity are altered by fasting; hormones that trigger digestion, elevate metabolism, and support immune performance become depressed, whereas hormones that enhance the utilization of endogenous substrates are elevated. The negative energy budget that accompanies fasting leads to the loss of body mass as fat stores are depleted and tissues undergo atrophy (i.e., loss of mass). Absolute rates of body mass loss scale allometrically among vertebrates. Tissues and organs vary in the degree of atrophy and downregulation of function, depending on the degree to which they are used during the fast. Fasting affects the population dynamics and activities of the gut microbiota, an interplay that impacts the host's fasting biology. Fasting-induced gene expression programs underlie the broad spectrum of integrated physiological mechanisms responsible for an animal's ability to survive long episodes of natural fasting.

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Seasonal Starvation in Northern White-Tailed Deer

Cited by 2 publications

References 19 publications

Body size‐mediated starvation resistance in an insect predator

Body size‐mediated starvation resistance in an insect predator

Integrative Physiology of Fasting

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