Torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate Galago moholi.
Hibernation and daily torpor are energy- and water-saving adaptations employed to survive unfavourable periods mostly in temperate and arctic environments, but also in tropical and arid climates. Heterothermy has been found in a number of mammalian orders, but within the primates so far it seems to...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e7f891c0312d4ffc848520ad65992a3a 2023-05-15T15:12:39+02:00 Torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate Galago moholi. Julia Nowack Nomakwezi Mzilikazi Kathrin H Dausmann 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010797 https://doaj.org/article/e7f891c0312d4ffc848520ad65992a3a EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2875402?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010797 https://doaj.org/article/e7f891c0312d4ffc848520ad65992a3a PLoS ONE, Vol 5, Iss 5, p e10797 (2010) Medicine R Science Q article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010797 2022-12-31T05:59:59Z Hibernation and daily torpor are energy- and water-saving adaptations employed to survive unfavourable periods mostly in temperate and arctic environments, but also in tropical and arid climates. Heterothermy has been found in a number of mammalian orders, but within the primates so far it seems to be restricted to one family of Malagasy lemurs. As currently there is no evidence of heterothermy of a primate outside of Madagascar, the aim of our study was to investigate whether small primates from mainland Africa are indeed always homeothermic despite pronounced seasonal changes in weather and food availability.One of the nearest relatives of Malagasy lemurs, the African lesser bushbaby, Galago moholi, which inhabits a highly seasonal habitat with a hot wet-season and a cold dry-season with lower food abundance, was investigated to determine whether it is capable of heterothermy. We measured skin temperature of free-ranging individuals throughout the cool dry season using temperature-sensitive collars as well as metabolic rate in captured individuals. Torpor was employed by 15% of 20 animals. Only one of these animals displayed heterothermy in response to natural availability of food and water, whereas the other animals became torpid without access to food and water.Our results show that G. moholi are physiologically capable of employing torpor. However they do not use it as a routine behaviour, but only under adverse conditions. This reluctance is presumably a result of conflicting selective pressures for energy savings versus other ecological and evolutionary forces, such as reproduction or territory defence. Our results support the view that heterothermy in primates evolved before the division of African and Malagasy Strepsirhini, with the possible implication that more primate species than previously thought might still have the potential to call upon this possibility, if the situation necessitates it. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLoS ONE 5 5 e10797 |
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English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Julia Nowack Nomakwezi Mzilikazi Kathrin H Dausmann Torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate Galago moholi. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Hibernation and daily torpor are energy- and water-saving adaptations employed to survive unfavourable periods mostly in temperate and arctic environments, but also in tropical and arid climates. Heterothermy has been found in a number of mammalian orders, but within the primates so far it seems to be restricted to one family of Malagasy lemurs. As currently there is no evidence of heterothermy of a primate outside of Madagascar, the aim of our study was to investigate whether small primates from mainland Africa are indeed always homeothermic despite pronounced seasonal changes in weather and food availability.One of the nearest relatives of Malagasy lemurs, the African lesser bushbaby, Galago moholi, which inhabits a highly seasonal habitat with a hot wet-season and a cold dry-season with lower food abundance, was investigated to determine whether it is capable of heterothermy. We measured skin temperature of free-ranging individuals throughout the cool dry season using temperature-sensitive collars as well as metabolic rate in captured individuals. Torpor was employed by 15% of 20 animals. Only one of these animals displayed heterothermy in response to natural availability of food and water, whereas the other animals became torpid without access to food and water.Our results show that G. moholi are physiologically capable of employing torpor. However they do not use it as a routine behaviour, but only under adverse conditions. This reluctance is presumably a result of conflicting selective pressures for energy savings versus other ecological and evolutionary forces, such as reproduction or territory defence. Our results support the view that heterothermy in primates evolved before the division of African and Malagasy Strepsirhini, with the possible implication that more primate species than previously thought might still have the potential to call upon this possibility, if the situation necessitates it. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Julia Nowack Nomakwezi Mzilikazi Kathrin H Dausmann |
author_facet |
Julia Nowack Nomakwezi Mzilikazi Kathrin H Dausmann |
author_sort |
Julia Nowack |
title |
Torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate Galago moholi. |
title_short |
Torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate Galago moholi. |
title_full |
Torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate Galago moholi. |
title_fullStr |
Torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate Galago moholi. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate Galago moholi. |
title_sort |
torpor on demand: heterothermy in the non-lemur primate galago moholi. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010797 https://doaj.org/article/e7f891c0312d4ffc848520ad65992a3a |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 5, Iss 5, p e10797 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2875402?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010797 https://doaj.org/article/e7f891c0312d4ffc848520ad65992a3a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010797 |
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PLoS ONE |
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5 |
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5 |
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e10797 |
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