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- Title
Extreme individual flexibility of heterothermy in free-ranging Malagasy mouse lemurs ( Microcebus griseorufus).
- Authors
Kobbe, Susanne; Ganzhorn, Jörg U.; Dausmann, Kathrin H.
- Abstract
Flexibility in physiological processes is essential to adequately respond to changes in environmental conditions. Madagascar is a particularly challenging environment because climatic conditions seem less predictable than in comparative ecosystems in other parts of the world. We used the reddish-gray mouse lemur ( Microcebus griseorufus) from the most unpredictable environment in Madagascar as a model to investigate the flexibility of energy saving strategies to cope with the unpredictability of their habitat. For this we measured T of free-ranging mouse lemurs throughout the year using temperature data loggers. M. griseorufus showed a very strong seasonal as well as an individual flexibility in thermoregulation. During the rainy season all M. griseorufus remained normothermic. At the beginning of the dry season individuals started to exhibit different energy saving strategies: irregular short torpor bouts, regular daily torpor, prolonged torpor of a few days, and hibernation over several weeks. The accumulation of sufficient seasonal body fat was the crucial factor determining the thermal behavior of individuals. The observed intraspecific and sex independent variation in thermoregulatory patterns within one population inhabiting the same small geographical area is exceptional and gives M. griseorufus the ability to respond to current environmental as well as individual conditions. This thermal plasticity might be seen as a key to success and survival for M. griseorufus in an extremely unpredictable environment.
- Subjects
MADAGASCAR; BODY temperature regulation; ANIMAL wintering; MOUSE lemurs; PHYSIOLOGICAL control systems
- Publication
Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic & Environmental Physiology, 2011, Vol 181, Issue 1, p165
- ISSN
0174-1578
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00360-010-0507-5