Quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an Arctic ungulate
Abstract Animals have adapted behavioral and physiological strategies to conserve energy during periods of adverse conditions. Heterothermy is one such adaptation used by endotherms. While heterothermy—fluctuations in body temperature and metabolic rate—has been shown in large vertebrates, little is...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7049 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.7049 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.7049 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ece3.7049 2024-06-02T08:01:44+00:00 Quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an Arctic ungulate Desforges, Jean‐Pierre van Beest, Floris M. Marques, Gonçalo M. Pedersen, Stine H. Beumer, Larissa T. Chimienti, Marianna Schmidt, Niels Martin Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7049 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.7049 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.7049 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 11, issue 1, page 338-351 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2020 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7049 2024-05-03T10:56:33Z Abstract Animals have adapted behavioral and physiological strategies to conserve energy during periods of adverse conditions. Heterothermy is one such adaptation used by endotherms. While heterothermy—fluctuations in body temperature and metabolic rate—has been shown in large vertebrates, little is known of the costs and benefits of this strategy, both in terms of energy and in terms of fitness. Hence, our objective was to model the energetics of seasonal heterothermy in the largest Arctic ungulate, the muskox ( Ovibos moschatus ), using an individual‐based energy budget model of metabolic physiology. We found that the empirically based drop in body temperature (winter max ~−0.8°C) overwinter in adult females resulted in substantial fitness benefits in terms of reduced daily energy expenditure and body mass loss. Body mass and energy reserves were 8.98% and 14.46% greater in modeled heterotherms compared to normotherms by end of winter. Based on environmental simulations, we show that seasonal heterothermy can, to some extent, buffer the negative consequences of poor prewinter body condition or reduced winter food accessibility, leading to greater winter survival (+20%–30%) and spring energy reserves (+10%–30%), and thus increased probability of future reproductive success. These results indicate substantial adaptive short‐term benefits of seasonal heterothermy at the individual level, with potential implications for long‐term population dynamics in highly seasonal environments. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic muskox ovibos moschatus Wiley Online Library Arctic Ecology and Evolution 11 1 338 351 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Animals have adapted behavioral and physiological strategies to conserve energy during periods of adverse conditions. Heterothermy is one such adaptation used by endotherms. While heterothermy—fluctuations in body temperature and metabolic rate—has been shown in large vertebrates, little is known of the costs and benefits of this strategy, both in terms of energy and in terms of fitness. Hence, our objective was to model the energetics of seasonal heterothermy in the largest Arctic ungulate, the muskox ( Ovibos moschatus ), using an individual‐based energy budget model of metabolic physiology. We found that the empirically based drop in body temperature (winter max ~−0.8°C) overwinter in adult females resulted in substantial fitness benefits in terms of reduced daily energy expenditure and body mass loss. Body mass and energy reserves were 8.98% and 14.46% greater in modeled heterotherms compared to normotherms by end of winter. Based on environmental simulations, we show that seasonal heterothermy can, to some extent, buffer the negative consequences of poor prewinter body condition or reduced winter food accessibility, leading to greater winter survival (+20%–30%) and spring energy reserves (+10%–30%), and thus increased probability of future reproductive success. These results indicate substantial adaptive short‐term benefits of seasonal heterothermy at the individual level, with potential implications for long‐term population dynamics in highly seasonal environments. |
author2 |
Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Desforges, Jean‐Pierre van Beest, Floris M. Marques, Gonçalo M. Pedersen, Stine H. Beumer, Larissa T. Chimienti, Marianna Schmidt, Niels Martin |
spellingShingle |
Desforges, Jean‐Pierre van Beest, Floris M. Marques, Gonçalo M. Pedersen, Stine H. Beumer, Larissa T. Chimienti, Marianna Schmidt, Niels Martin Quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an Arctic ungulate |
author_facet |
Desforges, Jean‐Pierre van Beest, Floris M. Marques, Gonçalo M. Pedersen, Stine H. Beumer, Larissa T. Chimienti, Marianna Schmidt, Niels Martin |
author_sort |
Desforges, Jean‐Pierre |
title |
Quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an Arctic ungulate |
title_short |
Quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an Arctic ungulate |
title_full |
Quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an Arctic ungulate |
title_fullStr |
Quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an Arctic ungulate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an Arctic ungulate |
title_sort |
quantifying energetic and fitness consequences of seasonal heterothermy in an arctic ungulate |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7049 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.7049 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.7049 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic muskox ovibos moschatus |
genre_facet |
Arctic muskox ovibos moschatus |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 11, issue 1, page 338-351 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7049 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
338 |
op_container_end_page |
351 |
_version_ |
1800746119977762816 |