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Effects of reproductive status and high ambient temperatures on the body temperature of a free-ranging basoendotherm

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Abstract

Tenrecs (Order Afrosoricida) exhibit some of the lowest body temperatures (T b) of any eutherian mammal. They also have a high level of variability in both active and resting T bs and, at least in cool temperatures in captivity, frequently employ both short- and long-term torpor. The use of heterothermy by captive animals is, however, generally reduced during gestation and lactation. We present data long-term T b recordings collected from free-ranging S. setosus over the course of two reproductive seasons. In general, reproductive females had slightly higher (~32 °C) and less variable T b, whereas non-reproductive females and males showed both a higher propensity for torpor as well as lower (~30.5 °C) and more variable rest-phase T bs. Torpor expression defined using traditional means (using a threshold or cut-off T b) was much lower than predicted based on the high degree of heterothermy in captive tenrecs. However, torpor defined in this manner is likely to be underestimated in habitats where ambient temperature is close to T b. Our results caution against inferring metabolic states from T b alone and lend support to the recent call to define torpor in free-ranging animals based on mechanistic and not descriptive variables. In addition, lower variability in T b observed during gestation and lactation confirms that homeothermy is essential for reproduction in this species and probably for basoendothermic mammals in general. The relatively low costs of maintaining homeothermy in a sub-tropical environment might help shed light on how homeothermy could have evolved incrementally from an ancestral heterothermic condition.

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Abbreviations

Ta :

Ambient temperature measured via a black body apparatus

T b :

Core body temperature

T soil :

Ambient temperature measured at a depth of 250 mm below the surface

T tree :

Ambient temperature measured in a tree cavity

∆T :

Temperature differential (T b − T a)

T bmax :

Average of the 5 highest T b data for each day

T bmin :

Average of the 5 lowest T b data for each day

∆T b :

Difference between the daily maximum and minimum T b

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Acknowledgments

All procedures involving the use of animals were approved by the Madagascar National Parks (Permit 218/09/MEF/SG/DGF/DCB.SAP/SLRSE and 158/10/MEF/SG/DGF/DCB.SAP/SCBSE) and comply with all national Malagasy laws. We wish to thank the following individuals and institutions for their assistance: C.I. Canale for help with the T b analysis spreadsheets, Prof. D. Rakotondravony (Département de Biologie Animale, Université d’Antananarivo), the local guides (Tosy, Alpha and Ndrema), Oliva Malala Loavasoa Andriambola, Sophie Nirina Rakotoharimala, Christophe Bouvier, the Malagasy National Parks, and the Malagasy Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments. We are grateful to Dr. Akiro Mori, Kyoto University, for extracting one of the transmitters from a boa without harm to the snake. The research was funded through an Ad Hoc Travel Grant, an incentive grant, and a competitive grant, from the National Research Foundation (South Africa), and from incentive grants from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, to BGL. A generous donation was received from Idea Wild for the purchase of GPS units. DLL was funded by the above-mentioned grants, as well as a National Science and Engineering Research Council (Canada) postgraduate scholarship.

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  1. Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia

    Danielle L. Levesque

  2. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P/Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    Danielle L. Levesque, Kerileigh D. Lobban & Barry G. Lovegrove

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  1. Danielle L. Levesque
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Correspondence to Danielle L. Levesque.

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Levesque, D.L., Lobban, K.D. & Lovegrove, B.G. Effects of reproductive status and high ambient temperatures on the body temperature of a free-ranging basoendotherm. J Comp Physiol B 184, 1041–1053 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-014-0858-4

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