Abstract
Naked mole rat is a highly social mammal, living in large underground colonies in equatorial Africa. Isolated naked mole rats exhibit unusual thermoregulation and cannot regulate body temperature (Tb). Thermoregulatory parameters, namely Vo2, evaporative water loss (EWL), and Tb, were therefore examined when these animals were housed in groups ranging from 2-8 animals. Oxygen consumption at low ambient temperatures (Ta's), irrespective of the experimental group size, increased with increasing Ta in a poikilothermic manner. Changes in Vo2 with increasing Ta switched to an endothermic pattern at Ta's ranging from 25°C (for groups of eight) to 27°C (for pairs). Huddling behaviour not only saves energy and water, so essential in an arid environment where food is sparsely distributed, but huddling also plays a very important thermoregulatory role in these otherwise nonendothermic mammals. Huddling ensures that, in their natural habitat, naked mole rats are able to control Tb and are indeed homeotherms. -from Authors
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 871-884 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Physiological Zoology |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - 1991 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrinology
Cite this
Huddling behavior facilitates homeothermy in the naked mole rat Heterocephalus glaber. / Yahav, S.; Buffenstein, R.
In: Physiological Zoology, Vol. 64, No. 3, 1991, p. 871-884.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Huddling behavior facilitates homeothermy in the naked mole rat Heterocephalus glaber
AU - Yahav, S.
AU - Buffenstein, R.
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - Naked mole rat is a highly social mammal, living in large underground colonies in equatorial Africa. Isolated naked mole rats exhibit unusual thermoregulation and cannot regulate body temperature (Tb). Thermoregulatory parameters, namely Vo2, evaporative water loss (EWL), and Tb, were therefore examined when these animals were housed in groups ranging from 2-8 animals. Oxygen consumption at low ambient temperatures (Ta's), irrespective of the experimental group size, increased with increasing Ta in a poikilothermic manner. Changes in Vo2 with increasing Ta switched to an endothermic pattern at Ta's ranging from 25°C (for groups of eight) to 27°C (for pairs). Huddling behaviour not only saves energy and water, so essential in an arid environment where food is sparsely distributed, but huddling also plays a very important thermoregulatory role in these otherwise nonendothermic mammals. Huddling ensures that, in their natural habitat, naked mole rats are able to control Tb and are indeed homeotherms. -from Authors
AB - Naked mole rat is a highly social mammal, living in large underground colonies in equatorial Africa. Isolated naked mole rats exhibit unusual thermoregulation and cannot regulate body temperature (Tb). Thermoregulatory parameters, namely Vo2, evaporative water loss (EWL), and Tb, were therefore examined when these animals were housed in groups ranging from 2-8 animals. Oxygen consumption at low ambient temperatures (Ta's), irrespective of the experimental group size, increased with increasing Ta in a poikilothermic manner. Changes in Vo2 with increasing Ta switched to an endothermic pattern at Ta's ranging from 25°C (for groups of eight) to 27°C (for pairs). Huddling behaviour not only saves energy and water, so essential in an arid environment where food is sparsely distributed, but huddling also plays a very important thermoregulatory role in these otherwise nonendothermic mammals. Huddling ensures that, in their natural habitat, naked mole rats are able to control Tb and are indeed homeotherms. -from Authors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0026395015&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0026395015&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0026395015
VL - 64
SP - 871
EP - 884
JO - Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
JF - Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
SN - 1522-2152
IS - 3
ER -