Contrasting physiological responses to habitat degradation in two arboreal mammals

Summary: To cope with the challenges presented by habitat degradation and loss, animals must often respond by adjusting physiological and behavioral mechanisms. Here we quantified physiological and behavioral traits, including body temperature and food consumption, of two mammals with differing ther...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Clare Stawski, Emily G. Simmonds
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Elsevier 2021
Materias:
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/7090833495cb4b45b970258d589596c2
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Summary: To cope with the challenges presented by habitat degradation and loss, animals must often respond by adjusting physiological and behavioral mechanisms. Here we quantified physiological and behavioral traits, including body temperature and food consumption, of two mammals with differing thermoregulatory strategies in response to changes in climate and habitat. We show that both species responded to challenging climatic conditions by increasing torpor use to save energy, yet their responses were impacted by varying vegetation levels. Sugar gliders decreased torpor use in a dense habitat likely due to a signal of greater food production and protection from predators. Conversely, eastern pygmy possums employed more torpor perhaps to build up fat reserves in anticipation of leaner times. Indeed, in dense habitat eastern pygmy possums did not alter food intake yet showed an increase in body mass, whereas sugar gliders consumed less food and lost body mass, revealing the large energetic savings provided by torpor.