Adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus )
Unlike other lagomorphs or any other mammals living in a cold environment, the basal metabolic rate of the arctic hare, Lepus arcticus monstrabilis (0.36 cm 3 O 2 /g per hour) was only 62–83% of the values predicted from its body weight. The minimum thermal conductance (0.010 cm 3 O 2 /g per hour pe...
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Canadian Science Publishing
1973
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z73-125 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z73-125 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z73-125 2023-12-17T10:23:53+01:00 Adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus ) Wang, Lawrence C. H. Jones, Douglas L. MacArthur, Robert A. Fuller, William A. 1973 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z73-125 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z73-125 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 51, issue 8, page 841-846 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1973 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z73-125 2023-11-19T13:39:25Z Unlike other lagomorphs or any other mammals living in a cold environment, the basal metabolic rate of the arctic hare, Lepus arcticus monstrabilis (0.36 cm 3 O 2 /g per hour) was only 62–83% of the values predicted from its body weight. The minimum thermal conductance (0.010 cm 3 O 2 /g per hour per degree centigrade) was also reduced to only 51–59% of its weight-specific value (0.019–0.017 cm 3 O 2 /g per hour per degree centigrade). The normal body temperature (38.9C), however, was comparable to that of other lagomorphs. The daily energy consumption between ambient temperatures of −24 and 12.5C was between 262 and 133 kcal, which is 6–43% above the minimum resting values at corresponding ambient temperatures.It is concluded that the reduction of surface area to volume ratio and the effectiveness of its insulation are sufficient compensations so that the arctic hare can maintain a normal body temperature with a depressed basal metabolic rate. Such a reduction of metabolism is energetically adaptive for a species living exclusively in a cold and relatively barren habitat. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic hare Arctic Lepus arcticus Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Arctic Canadian Journal of Zoology 51 8 841 846 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Wang, Lawrence C. H. Jones, Douglas L. MacArthur, Robert A. Fuller, William A. Adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus ) |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Unlike other lagomorphs or any other mammals living in a cold environment, the basal metabolic rate of the arctic hare, Lepus arcticus monstrabilis (0.36 cm 3 O 2 /g per hour) was only 62–83% of the values predicted from its body weight. The minimum thermal conductance (0.010 cm 3 O 2 /g per hour per degree centigrade) was also reduced to only 51–59% of its weight-specific value (0.019–0.017 cm 3 O 2 /g per hour per degree centigrade). The normal body temperature (38.9C), however, was comparable to that of other lagomorphs. The daily energy consumption between ambient temperatures of −24 and 12.5C was between 262 and 133 kcal, which is 6–43% above the minimum resting values at corresponding ambient temperatures.It is concluded that the reduction of surface area to volume ratio and the effectiveness of its insulation are sufficient compensations so that the arctic hare can maintain a normal body temperature with a depressed basal metabolic rate. Such a reduction of metabolism is energetically adaptive for a species living exclusively in a cold and relatively barren habitat. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wang, Lawrence C. H. Jones, Douglas L. MacArthur, Robert A. Fuller, William A. |
author_facet |
Wang, Lawrence C. H. Jones, Douglas L. MacArthur, Robert A. Fuller, William A. |
author_sort |
Wang, Lawrence C. H. |
title |
Adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus ) |
title_short |
Adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus ) |
title_full |
Adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus ) |
title_fullStr |
Adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus ) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus ) |
title_sort |
adaptation to cold: energy metabolism in an atypical lagomorph, the arctic hare ( lepus arcticus ) |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1973 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z73-125 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z73-125 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic hare Arctic Lepus arcticus |
genre_facet |
Arctic hare Arctic Lepus arcticus |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 51, issue 8, page 841-846 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z73-125 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
51 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
841 |
op_container_end_page |
846 |
_version_ |
1785561004550127616 |