The key to winter survival: daily torpor in a small arid-zone marsupial

@article{Krtner2008TheKT,
  title={The key to winter survival: daily torpor in a small arid-zone marsupial},
  author={Gerhard K{\"o}rtner and Fritz Geiser},
  journal={Naturwissenschaften},
  year={2008},
  volume={96},
  pages={525-530}
}
Mammalian hibernation, which lasts on average for about 6 months, can reduce energy expenditure by >90% in comparison to active individuals. In contrast, the widely held view is that daily torpor reduces energy expenditure usually by about 30%, is employed for a few hours every few days, and often occurs only under acute energetic stress. This interpretation is largely based on laboratory studies, whereas knowledge on daily torpor in the field is scant. We used temperature telemetry to quantify… 
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59 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
3
Background Citations
34
Methods Citations
4
Results Citations
2

59 Citations

Activity and torpor in two sympatric Australian desert marsupials
TLDR
This study suggests that in winter, the smaller dunnarts can remain active only during the warmer first half of the night and energy-saving torpor becomes part of their daily routine, while the larger kowaries are less affected by cold winter nights and can maintain high night-time activity levels and commence reproduction already in winter.
Some like it cold: summer torpor by freetail bats in the Australian arid zone
TLDR
It is demonstrated that this desert bat uses torpor extensively in summer and often rewarms passively from torpor to maximise energy and water conservation.
Fat and fed: frequent use of summer torpor in a subtropical bat
TLDR
It is provided the first evidence that use of torpor in a free-ranging subtropical mammal is positively related with high body condition index, suggesting that employment of torpora is maximised and foraging minimised not because of food shortages or low energy stores but likely to avoid predation when bats are not required to feed.
Thermal biology, torpor use and activity patterns of a small diurnal marsupial from a tropical desert: sexual differences
TLDR
It is proposed that physiological as well as behavioural preparations for the September mating season that culminate in a complete male die-off might already impose energetic costs on males during winter.
Nocturnal torpor by superb fairy-wrens: a key mechanism for reducing winter daily energy expenditure
TLDR
These results provide strong evidence of nocturnal torpor in this small passerine and suggest that torpor could be more widespread and important than previously thought within passerines, the most diverse order of birds.
Daily torpor and hibernation in birds and mammals
  • T. Ruf, F. Geiser
  • Biology
    Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
  • 2015
TLDR
The analysis strongly supports the view that hibernators and daily heterotherms are functionally distinct groups that probably have been subject to disruptive selection.
Torpor on Demand: Heterothermy in the Non-Lemur Primate Galago moholi
TLDR
The 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.
Hibernation and daily torpor minimize mammalian extinctions
TLDR
Evidence is provided that almost all (93.5%) of 61 recently extinct mammal species were homeothermic, maintaining a constant high body temperature and thus energy expenditure, which demands a high intake of food, long foraging times, and thus exposure to predators.
Do Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Use Daily Torpor During Winter?
TLDR
Given that taxonomically related species can and do use torpor, it remains to be determined what makes heterothermy in this species costly to the extent that its use is precluded.
Seasonal Expression of Avian and Mammalian Daily Torpor and Hibernation: Not a Simple Summer-Winter Affair†
  • F. Geiser
  • Environmental Science
    Frontiers in Physiology
  • 2020
TLDR
Seasonal use of torpor is complex and differs among species and habitats, with strong seasonality mainly found in the sciurid and cricetid rodents, but seasonality is less pronounced in the marsupials, bats and dormice.
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