On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate
Abstract For free-ranging animals living in seasonal environments, hypometabolism (lowered metabolic rate) and hypothermia (lowered body temperature) can be effective physiological strategies to conserve energy when forage resources are low. To what extent such strategies are adopted by large mammal...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf696921992 2023-05-15T14:53:38+02:00 On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate Niels M. Schmidt Carsten Grøndahl Alina L. Evans Jean-Pierre Desforges John Blake Lars H. Hansen Larissa T. Beumer Jesper B. Mosbacher Mikkel Stelvig Eva M. Greunz Marianna Chimienti Floris M. van Beest 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8 https://doaj.org/article/e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf696921992 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf696921992 Scientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2020) Medicine R Science Q article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8 2022-12-31T11:20:18Z Abstract For free-ranging animals living in seasonal environments, hypometabolism (lowered metabolic rate) and hypothermia (lowered body temperature) can be effective physiological strategies to conserve energy when forage resources are low. To what extent such strategies are adopted by large mammals living under extreme conditions, as those encountered in the high Arctic, is largely unknown, especially for species where the gestation period overlaps with the period of lowest resource availability (i.e. winter). Here we investigated for the first time the level to which high arctic muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) adopt hypothermia and tested the hypothesis that individual plasticity in the use of hypothermia depends on reproductive status. We measured core body temperature over most of the gestation period in both free-ranging muskox females in Greenland and captive female muskoxen in Alaska. We found divergent overwintering strategies according to reproductive status, where pregnant females maintained stable body temperatures during winter, while non-pregnant females exhibited a temporary decrease in their winter body temperature. These results show that muskox females use hypothermia during periods of resource scarcity, but also that the use of this strategy may be limited to non-reproducing females. Our findings suggest a trade-off between metabolically-driven energy conservation during winter and sustaining foetal growth, which may also apply to other large herbivores living in highly seasonal environments elsewhere. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Greenland muskox ovibos moschatus Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Greenland Scientific Reports 10 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Niels M. Schmidt Carsten Grøndahl Alina L. Evans Jean-Pierre Desforges John Blake Lars H. Hansen Larissa T. Beumer Jesper B. Mosbacher Mikkel Stelvig Eva M. Greunz Marianna Chimienti Floris M. van Beest On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Abstract For free-ranging animals living in seasonal environments, hypometabolism (lowered metabolic rate) and hypothermia (lowered body temperature) can be effective physiological strategies to conserve energy when forage resources are low. To what extent such strategies are adopted by large mammals living under extreme conditions, as those encountered in the high Arctic, is largely unknown, especially for species where the gestation period overlaps with the period of lowest resource availability (i.e. winter). Here we investigated for the first time the level to which high arctic muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) adopt hypothermia and tested the hypothesis that individual plasticity in the use of hypothermia depends on reproductive status. We measured core body temperature over most of the gestation period in both free-ranging muskox females in Greenland and captive female muskoxen in Alaska. We found divergent overwintering strategies according to reproductive status, where pregnant females maintained stable body temperatures during winter, while non-pregnant females exhibited a temporary decrease in their winter body temperature. These results show that muskox females use hypothermia during periods of resource scarcity, but also that the use of this strategy may be limited to non-reproducing females. Our findings suggest a trade-off between metabolically-driven energy conservation during winter and sustaining foetal growth, which may also apply to other large herbivores living in highly seasonal environments elsewhere. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Niels M. Schmidt Carsten Grøndahl Alina L. Evans Jean-Pierre Desforges John Blake Lars H. Hansen Larissa T. Beumer Jesper B. Mosbacher Mikkel Stelvig Eva M. Greunz Marianna Chimienti Floris M. van Beest |
author_facet |
Niels M. Schmidt Carsten Grøndahl Alina L. Evans Jean-Pierre Desforges John Blake Lars H. Hansen Larissa T. Beumer Jesper B. Mosbacher Mikkel Stelvig Eva M. Greunz Marianna Chimienti Floris M. van Beest |
author_sort |
Niels M. Schmidt |
title |
On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate |
title_short |
On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate |
title_full |
On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate |
title_fullStr |
On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate |
title_sort |
on the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8 https://doaj.org/article/e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf696921992 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland muskox ovibos moschatus Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland muskox ovibos moschatus Alaska |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf696921992 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766325240230576128 |