Torpor and activity patterns in free-ranging sugar gliders Petaurus breviceps (Marsupialia)

@article{Krtner2000TorporAA,
  title={Torpor and activity patterns in free-ranging sugar gliders Petaurus breviceps (Marsupialia)},
  author={Gerhard K{\"o}rtner and Fritz Geiser},
  journal={Oecologia},
  year={2000},
  volume={123},
  pages={350-357}
}
Abstract Almost all studies on daily torpor in mammals have been conducted in the laboratory under constant environmental conditions. We investigated torpor and activity patterns in free-ranging sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps, 100 g) using temperature telemetry and compared field data with published information obtained in the laboratory. Body and/or skin temperature and activity patterns of 12 sugar gliders were monitored from autumn to spring. Healthy sugar gliders were active between… 
View on Springer
une.edu.au
131 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
4
Background Citations
53
Methods Citations
26
Results Citations
1

131 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Weather Patterns and Daily Torpor in Free­ ranging Animals
TLDR
It appears that inclement weather conditions not only increase thermoregulatory costs, but more importantly, prevent successful foraging in both free-ranging tawny frogmouths and sugar gliders.
Thermal biology, torpor and behaviour in sugar gliders: a laboratory-field comparison
TLDR
It is shown that activity in captive gliders in an outdoor aviary is restricted to the night and largely unaffected by weather, whereas free-ranging gliders omit foraging on cold/wet nights and may also forage in the afternoon, and activity patterns may differ substantially between the laboratory and field.
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.
Activity patterns and torpor in two free-ranging carnivorous marsupials in arid Australia in relation to precipitation, reproduction, and ground cover
TLDR
Daily torpor does not seem to be employed in response to immediate energy shortage but more likely to allow reallocation of energy and nutrients towards reproduction in mulgaras, surprisingly more or less independent of apparent resource availability.
Refuge sites, activity and torpor in wild common dunnarts (Sminthopsis murina) in a temperate heathland
TLDR
The variable physiological responses observed in S. murina seem to follow a facultative pattern, and, along with long activity periods and their use of refuge sites, may be linked to variable invertebrate activity during cooler months.
Torpor in Free‐Ranging Tawny Frogmouths (Podargus strigoides)
TLDR
It is concluded that despite their large body size and energetically conservative hunting strategy, tawny frogmouths, like several related caprimulgiform species, frequently enter shallow torpor when low Ta demands high energetic costs for normothermic thermoregulation and likely reduces insect availability.
Seasonal Use of Torpor by Free‐Ranging Australian Owlet‐Nightjars (Aegotheles cristatus)
TLDR
The results show that even though Australia is typically thought of as a warm continent, at least some of the avifauna use torpor as a regular means of saving energy.
Hibernation by a free-ranging subtropical bat (Nyctophilus bifax)
TLDR
It is shown that prolonged torpor is an important component of the winter ecology of a subtropical bat and that torpor and activity patterns of N. bifax predominantly reflect prevailing weather conditions.
Torpor and activity in a free-ranging tropical bat: implications for the distribution and conservation of mammals?
TLDR
It is proposed that the ability of employing torpor and the resulting highly plastic energy requirements may partially explain why these small insectivorous bats can inhabit almost the entire Australian continent despite vastly different climatic and likely trophic conditions.
Effect of roost choice on winter torpor patterns of a free-ranging insectivorous bat
TLDR
It is revealed that roost choice affects the thermal physiology of C. gouldii, ensuring survival during periods of cold weather and limited food supply, and presents the lowest skin temperature recorded for a free-ranging Australian microbat.
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 32 REFERENCES
Seasonal Study of Daily Torpor in Southeastern Peromyscus maniculatus and Peromyscus leucopus from Mountains and Foothills
TLDR
The findings imply that mice living in the more stressful montane environment may be subjected to greater selection for the use of torpor as a survival mechanism to counter short-term starvation pressure.
Thermoregulation and Torpor in the Sugar Glider, Petaurus Breviceps (Marsupialia:Petauridae).
TLDR
Sugar gliders from south-eastern Australia regulate their body temperature at 36.3 deg C at ambient temperatures less than 31 deg and torpor may be used to overcome short-term reductions in winter food supplies.
Daily torpor and energetics in a tropical mammal, the northern blossom-bat Macroglossus minimus (Megachiroptera)
TLDR
Observations suggest that variables associated with torpor are affected by Ta and that the restriction to tropical areas in M. minimus to some extent may be due to their ability to enter only very shallow daily torpor.
Energetic Significance of Torpor and Other Energy-Conserving Mechanisms in Free-Living Sminthopsis-Crassicaudata (Marsupialia, Dasyuridae)
TLDR
Various energy-conserving mechanisms were used, even in the absence of short-term energetic problems, resulting in spontaneous energy savings and a reduced depletion of food.
Torpor in relation to reproduction in the mulgara, Dasycercus cristicauda (Dasyuridae: Marsupialia)
Hibernation versus Daily Torpor in Mammals and Birds: Physiological Variables and Classification of Torpor Patterns
TLDR
Comparisons of several physiological variables appear to justify a distinction between the two torpor patterns, but of all variables tested, only the frequency distributions of maximum torpor bout duration and the minimum V̇o2 showed a clear gap between daily heterotherms and hibernators.
The Impact of Daily Torpor on Energy Requirements in the Djungarian Hamster, Phodopus sungorus
TLDR
Calculations show that daily torpor in Djungarian hamsters may serve to allow the continuation of foraging at low Ta's during winter in the Siberian steppe and save substantial amounts of energy by lowering average metabolic rates during the normothermic phase of the day.
Daily torpor and thermoregulation in Antechinus (Marsupialia): influence of body mass, season, development, reproduction, and sex
TLDR
The results suggest that the influence of body mass on torpor in these Antechinus species is stronger than that of season.
Field Energetics and Water Balance of Sugar Gliders, Petaurus Breviceps (Marsupialia:Petauridae).
TLDR
Doubly labelled water measurements in free-ranging sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) indicated that field metabolic rates (FMRS) averaged 62.5 litres CO2/kg daily, equivalent to 169 kJ per animal daily, suggesting that gliding affords sugar glider a considerable energetic saving.
Diet and feeding strategies of the marsupial sugar glider in temperate Australia.
TLDR
Glider population density is probably regulated by the abundance of plant exudates available during winter, and the most important insects in the diet were species of pasture pest that have larval stages which develop in pastures adjacent to the study area, and adult stages that are dependent upon eucalypts for food and shelter.
...
1
2
3
4
...