Yellow-bellied Marmots (Marmota flaviventris) Hibernate Socially

Blumstein, Daniel T.; Im, Soyeon; Nicodemus, Amanda; Zugmeyer, Claire A.

doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2004)085<0025:ymmfhs>2.0.co;2

Cited by 47 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In huddling animals, heat loss can be reduced as a result of body contact with other group members and hence a smaller surface area-to-volume ratio, as well as increased local temperature in the nest (Hayes et al, 1992;Séguy and Perret, 2005). In groups, the total cost of torpor can be reduced by mutual passive warming through body contact or passive rewarming during arousal by gaining heat from warmer nest-mates that started to rewarm earlier (Arnold, 1993;Blumstein et al, 2004). Arnold and colleagues found that the greater the number of alpine marmots (Marmota marmota) sharing one burrow the longer the burrow temperature remained above 5°C, which is the temperature threshold for an increase in metabolic rate in hibernating marmots (Arnold et al, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Although heterothermy is generally considered to be an energy-saving strategy, it also entails considerable costs related to periodic arousal from torpor and interbout normothermy (Thomas et al, 1990;Dunbar and Tomasi, 2006;Wojciechowski et al, 2007;Karpovich et al, 2009). Total energy requirements in winter may be further reduced by behavioural adjustments like selection of particular thermal micro-environments, well-insulated nests or hibernacula that provide protection from the cold (Morris, 1973;Walhovd, 1976;Ferron, 1996;Schmid, 1998), postural adjustments, like a curled position during sleep or torpor (Lyman, 1982a;Geiser, 2002), and finally communal nesting and huddling (Roverud and Chappell, 1991;Arnold, 1993;Blumstein et al, 2004) (for a review, see Gilbert et al, 2010). Animals spend winter solitarily or in groups with other conspecifics (Twente, 1955;Walhovd and Jensen, 1976;Webster and Brooks, 1981;Nowak and Paradiso, 1983;Arnold, 1988;Blumstein and Walter, 1998;Vogt and Kakooza, 1993;Ferron, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Animals spend winter solitarily or in groups with other conspecifics (Twente, 1955;Walhovd and Jensen, 1976;Webster and Brooks, 1981;Nowak and Paradiso, 1983;Arnold, 1988;Blumstein and Walter, 1998;Vogt and Kakooza, 1993;Ferron, 1996). Both strategies have pros and cons (Armitage et al, 1976;Arnold, 1993;Arnold et al, 1991;Berteaux et al, 1996;Blumstein et al, 2004;Hwang et al, 2007) (for a review, see Gilbert et al, 2010). In huddling animals, heat loss can be reduced as a result of body contact with other group members and hence a smaller surface area-to-volume ratio, as well as increased local temperature in the nest (Hayes et al, 1992;Séguy and Perret, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of body reserves for successful hibernation is emphasized by the fact that shorter winters (i.e. shorter hibernation season) are associated with greater survival of juvenile yellowbellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) over their first hibernation (Armitage et al, 1976;Blumstein et al, 2004). For juveniles, reduced winter m b loss due to social hibernation can make the difference between survival or death and it is not surprising that marmots' sociability correlates with the harshness of the environment [Barash (Barash, 1974) after Frase and Hoffmann (Frase and Hoffmann, 1980)].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social thermoregulation and torpor in the Siberian hamster

Jefimow

Głabska

Wojciechowski

2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYSocial thermoregulation and huddling bring about energy benefits to animals sharing a nest because of the smaller surface-tovolume ratio of a huddle and the higher local temperature in the nest. We tested whether living in groups and huddling affect daily torpor, metabolic rate and seasonal changes in the body mass of a small heterothermic rodent, the Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus), housed under semi-natural conditions both singly and in groups of four litter-mates. We predicted that in hamsters housed in groups: (1) synchronized torpor bouts would be longer and deeper than non-synchronized ones but shallower than in solitary hamsters, (2) seasonal variations in metabolic rate would be lower than in solitary hamsters, and (3) the winter decrease in body mass would be smaller in grouped than in singly housed hamsters. We found that group housing led to a smaller decrease in body mass in winter, and affected the length and depth of daily torpor. In group-living hamsters more than 50% of all torpor episodes were synchronized and torpid animals were often found in huddles formed of all cage-mates. The longest and deepest torpor bouts in groups were recorded when all animals in a group entered torpor simultaneously. Although the minimum body temperature during torpor was higher, torpor duration was slightly longer than in solitary hamsters. We did not record significant differences in the body mass-adjusted rate of oxygen consumption between solitary and grouped animals, either in the cold or at the lower critical temperature. We conclude that social thermoregulation enables maintenance of a larger body mass, and thus a larger body fat content, which can ensure better body condition at the beginning of the reproductive season.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social thermoregulation and torpor in the Siberian hamster

Jefimow

Głabska

Wojciechowski

2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Not surprisingly, a few heterothermic species, such as small marsupials, bats, rodents and primates, that enter torpor during the cold and/or during periods of food shortages are known to combine both strategies and nest in groups during the torpor season (Fleming, 1980;Vogt and Lynch, 1982;Arnold, 1988;Arnold et al, 1991;Perret, 1998;Blumstein et al, 2004;Séguy and Perret, 2005;McKechnie et al, 2006;Pretzlaff et al, 2010;Franco et al, 2012;Dausmann and Glos, 2014). Well-known examples of social hibernators are marmots (Marmota spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Friends with benefits: the role of huddling in mixed groups of torpid and normothermic animals

Nowack

Geiser

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Huddling and torpor are widely used for minimizing heat loss by mammals. Despite the questionable energetic benefits from social heterothermy of mixed groups of warm normothermic and cold torpid individuals, the heterothermic Australian sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) rests in such groups during the cold season. To unravel why they might do so, we examined torpor expression of two sugar glider groups of four individuals each in outside enclosures during winter. We observed 79 torpor bouts during 50 days of observation and found that torpor bouts were longer and deeper when all individuals of a group entered torpor together, and therefore infer that they would have saved more energy in comparison to short and shallow solitary torpor bouts. However, all gliders of either group only expressed torpor uniformly in response to food restriction, whereas on most occasions at least one individual per group remained normothermic. Nevertheless, the presence of warm gliders in mixed groups also appears to be of energetic advantage for torpid individuals, because nest box temperature was negatively correlated with the number of torpid gliders, and normothermic individuals kept the nest temperature at a value closer to the threshold for thermoregulatory heat production during torpor. Our study suggests that mixed groups of torpid and normothermic individuals are observed when environmental conditions are adverse but food is available, leading to intermediate energy savings from torpor. However, under especially challenging conditions and when animals are starving, energy savings are maximized by uniform and pronounced expression of torpor.

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Sociality influences thermoregulation and roost switching in a forest bat using ephemeral roosts

Russo

Cistrone

Budinski

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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In summer, many temperate bat species use daytime torpor, but breeding females do so less to avoid interferences with reproduction. In forest-roosting bats, deep tree cavities buffer roost microclimate from abrupt temperature oscillations and facilitate thermoregulation. Forest bats also switch roosts frequently, so thermally suitable cavities may be limiting. We tested how barbastelle bats (Barbastella barbastellus), often roosting beneath flaking bark in snags, may thermoregulate successfully despite the unstable microclimate of their preferred cavities. We assessed thermoregulation patterns of bats roosting in trees in a beech forest of central Italy. Although all bats used torpor, females were more often normothermic. Cavities were poorly insulated, but social thermoregulation probably overcomes this problem. A model incorporating the presence of roost mates and group size explained thermoregulation patterns better than others based, respectively, on the location and structural characteristics of tree roosts and cavities, weather, or sex, reproductive or body condition. Homeothermy was recorded for all subjects, including nonreproductive females: This probably ensures availability of a warm roosting environment for nonvolant juveniles.Homeothermy may also represent a lifesaver for bats roosting beneath loose bark, very exposed to predators, because homeothermic bats may react quickly in case of emergency. We also found that barbastelle bats maintain group cohesion when switching roosts: This may accelerate roost occupation at the end of a night, quickly securing a stable microclimate in the newly occupied cavity. Overall, both thermoregulation and roost-switching patterns were satisfactorily explained as adaptations to a structurally and thermally labile roosting environment. K E Y W O R D Sbody temperature, Chiroptera, snag, torpor, tree, vespertilionids

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Yellow-bellied Marmots (Marmota flaviventris) Hibernate Socially

Cited by 47 publications

References 24 publications

Social thermoregulation and torpor in the Siberian hamster

Social thermoregulation and torpor in the Siberian hamster

Friends with benefits: the role of huddling in mixed groups of torpid and normothermic animals

Sociality influences thermoregulation and roost switching in a forest bat using ephemeral roosts

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