Effects of wind on thermoregulation and energy balance in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus)

Summary

The effects of various convective and temperature regimes on heat production, evaporative heat loss, and thermal resistance were studied in deer mice,Peromyscus maniculatus. Heat production (measured as oxygen consumption) increased with increasing wind speed (V) and decreasing ambient temperature (T _a), except atT _a=35°C which was thermoneutral for allV from 0.05 through 3.75 m/s. Evaporative water loss ($\dot V_{\operatorname{H} _2 \operatorname{O} }$) increased with increasingT _a, but wind had little effect on$\dot V_{\operatorname{H} _2 \operatorname{O} }$ except at highT _a. In the absence of forced convection, the animals' total resistance to heat transfer (r _t) was high and stable atT _a below thermoneutrality. However, at highV ther _t increased steadily with decreasingT _a. Although deer mice rarely experience high wind speeds in natural microhabitats, the convective regime is nevertheless important in determining rates of heat loss, and must be considered in studies of ecological energetics.