To bask or not to bask: Behavioural thermoregulation in two species of dasyurid, Phascogale calura and Antechinomys laniger.

@article{Stannard2015ToBO,
  title={To bask or not to bask: Behavioural thermoregulation in two species of dasyurid, Phascogale calura and Antechinomys laniger.},
  author={Hayley J. Stannard and Megan C. Fabian and Julie M. Old},
  journal={Journal of thermal biology},
  year={2015},
  volume={53},
  pages={
          66-71
        }
}

Basking hamsters reduce resting metabolism, body temperature and energy costs during rewarming from torpor

The data show that basking substantially modifies thermal energetics in hamsters, with a drop of resting Tb and MR not previously observed and a reduction of rewarming costs, which suggests that this behaviour is of energetic significance not only for desert but also for cold-climate mammals.

Basking African striped mice choose warmer locations to heat up: evidence from a field study

Basking in the sun is an important energy saving tactic in ectotherm animals. It has also been 29 recognized to be important in several mammal species, especially in arid environments. In 30

Immunosenescence in a captive semelparous marsupial, the red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura)

Results suggest that captive males undergo accelerated immunosenescence in marsupials, which may help refine veterinary treatment plans, husbandry protocols and conservation programs to maintain the health of captive and wild populations.

The functional requirements of mammalian hair: a compromise between crypsis and thermoregulation?

The distal colored band appears to be important for camouflage, whereas the length of the dark proximal hair band facilitates heat gain for energy conservation and allows animals to rewarm quickly and economically from torpor.

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 22 REFERENCES

Basking behaviour in the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) during winter

It appears that rock hyraxes did not use basking behaviour as a way of warming up after night-time but used it during the day as a diurnal energy conserving mechanism.

Basking and diurnal foraging in the dasyurid marsupial Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis

P. macdonnellensis appears to compensate for the occurrence of torpor during the active phase (i.e. night) in winter by changing activity patterns such that foraging commences during what is usually the rest phase, and is associated with a decrease in richness and abundance of predators.

The energetics of basking behaviour and torpor in a small marsupial exposed to simulated natural conditions

It is demonstrated, for the first time in the laboratory, that torpid animals actively move to a heat source to bask, and that this behaviour results in considerable energy savings, which supports the view that basking during normothermia and rewarming from torpor substantially reduces energetic requirements.

Biology, life history, and captive management of the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger).

The kultarr (Antechinomys laniger) is a small marsupial that inhabits arid and semi-arid areas of central Australia and is morphologically unique from other dasyurids.

Basking behaviour and torpor use in free-ranging Planigale gilesi

The use of torpor and basking is likely to reduce the energy requirements of P. gilesi, thus helping it to survive in a harsh and unpredictable environment.

Was basking important in the evolution of mammalian endothermy?

These findings provide the first evidence of basking during rewarming from torpor in mammals and may provide an alternative explanation as to how ancestral mammals could have become nocturnal to avoid diurnal predators despite their small size and a low endogenous heat production.

The energetic cost of arousal from torpor in the marsupial Sminthopsis macroura : benefits of summer ambient temperature cycles

The total cost of all three phases of torpor (entry, maintenance and arousal) was almost halved when animals were exposed to an ambient heating cycle from 15 °C to 25‬C over a 24-h period, and may represent an important energetic aid to free-ranging animals.

Development of thermoregulation and torpor in a marsupial: energetic and evolutionary implications

It is shown that while torpor can substantially reduce energy expenditure during development of endotherms and hence is likely important for survival during energy bottlenecks, it also may enhance somatic growth when food is limited, and hypothesize that torpor during the development in endotherm is far more widespread than is currently appreciated.

Solar Radiation during Rewarming from Torpor in Elephant Shrews: Supplementation or Substitution of Endogenous Heat Production?

The positive relationship between solar radiation availability and rewarming rate, together with the absence of acclimation in maximum non-shivering and total heat production capacities, suggests that under the conditions of this study solar radiation supplemented rather than substituted metabolic thermogenesis as a source of heat during rewarming from heterothermy.