| Popis: |
In controlled laboratory conditions, oxygen uptake, rectal temperature, total and respiratory evaporative water loss, and respiratory frequencies in the slender mongoose (Herpestes sanguineus) were measured at ambient temperatures of 5, 10, 20, 26, 31, and 43 C. Except at 43 C the experimental runs were for more than 3 h. In other experiments, oxygen uptake, level of motor activity and intra-abdominal temperatures were recorded over 24-h duration. Within the thermal neutral zone ($T_{a} 26-T_{a}$ 31 C), resting postabsorptive oxygen uptake was 0.76 ± 0.15 ml O₂/g/h close to the value predicted for mammals of similar weight (corresponding to about 42 Kcal per day for a 500-g mongoose). Rectal temperature was 38.7 ± 0.03 C, while resting respiratory frequency remained at about 40 breaths per minute. When the animals were exposed to $T_{a}$ 38 C the rectal temperature was maintained at 39.8 ± 0.02 C for prolonged periods. At $T_{a}$ 43 C such a steady state could not be attained, and the rectal temperature c... |
