On the modulation and maintenance of hibernation in captive dwarf lemurs
| Autor: | Cathy V. Williams, Robert Schopler, Kay Welser, Jenna Browning, Melanie Simmons, Lydia K. Greene, Danielle Lynch, Peter H. Klopfer, Marina B. Blanco, Erin E. Ehmke |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine Male Time Factors Physiology Science Photoperiod Torpor Captivity Lemur Zoology 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Article 03 medical and health sciences biology.animal Hibernation Weight Loss Zeitgeber North Carolina Animals photoperiodism Multidisciplinary biology Obligate Cheirogaleus medius Temperature Duke Lemur Center Feeding Behavior biology.organism_classification 030104 developmental biology Metabolism Linear Models Medicine Female Cheirogaleidae |
| Zdroj: | Scientific Reports Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| Popis: | In nature, photoperiod signals environmental seasonality and is a strong selective “zeitgeber” that synchronizes biological rhythms. For animals facing seasonal environmental challenges and energetic bottlenecks, daily torpor and hibernation are two metabolic strategies that can save energy. In the wild, the dwarf lemurs of Madagascar are obligate hibernators, hibernating between 3 and 7 months a year. In captivity, however, dwarf lemurs generally express torpor for periods far shorter than the hibernation season in Madagascar. We investigated whether fat-tailed dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius) housed at the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) could hibernate, by subjecting 8 individuals to husbandry conditions more in accord with those in Madagascar, including alternating photoperiods, low ambient temperatures, and food restriction. All dwarf lemurs displayed daily and multiday torpor bouts, including bouts lasting ~ 11 days. Ambient temperature was the greatest predictor of torpor bout duration, and food ingestion and night length also played a role. Unlike their wild counterparts, who rarely leave their hibernacula and do not feed during hibernation, DLC dwarf lemurs sporadically moved and ate. While demonstrating that captive dwarf lemurs are physiologically capable of hibernation, we argue that facilitating their hibernation serves both husbandry and research goals: first, it enables lemurs to express the biphasic phenotypes (fattening and fat depletion) that are characteristic of their wild conspecifics; second, by “renaturalizing” dwarf lemurs in captivity, they will emerge a better model for understanding both metabolic extremes in primates generally and metabolic disorders in humans specifically. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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