On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate

Abstract For free-ranging animals living in seasonal environments, hypometabolism (lowered metabolic rate) and hypothermia (lowered body temperature) can be effective physiological strategies to conserve energy when forage resources are low. To what extent such strategies are adopted by large mammal...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Niels M. Schmidt, Carsten Grøndahl, Alina L. Evans, Jean-Pierre Desforges, John Blake, Lars H. Hansen, Larissa T. Beumer, Jesper B. Mosbacher, Mikkel Stelvig, Eva M. Greunz, Marianna Chimienti, Floris M. van Beest
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2020
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf696921992
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf696921992
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf6969219922021-12-02T14:16:42ZOn the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate10.1038/s41598-020-58298-82045-2322https://doaj.org/article/e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf6969219922020-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58298-8https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract For free-ranging animals living in seasonal environments, hypometabolism (lowered metabolic rate) and hypothermia (lowered body temperature) can be effective physiological strategies to conserve energy when forage resources are low. To what extent such strategies are adopted by large mammals living under extreme conditions, as those encountered in the high Arctic, is largely unknown, especially for species where the gestation period overlaps with the period of lowest resource availability (i.e. winter). Here we investigated for the first time the level to which high arctic muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) adopt hypothermia and tested the hypothesis that individual plasticity in the use of hypothermia depends on reproductive status. We measured core body temperature over most of the gestation period in both free-ranging muskox females in Greenland and captive female muskoxen in Alaska. We found divergent overwintering strategies according to reproductive status, where pregnant females maintained stable body temperatures during winter, while non-pregnant females exhibited a temporary decrease in their winter body temperature. These results show that muskox females use hypothermia during periods of resource scarcity, but also that the use of this strategy may be limited to non-reproducing females. Our findings suggest a trade-off between metabolically-driven energy conservation during winter and sustaining foetal growth, which may also apply to other large herbivores living in highly seasonal environments elsewhere.Niels M. SchmidtCarsten GrøndahlAlina L. EvansJean-Pierre DesforgesJohn BlakeLars H. HansenLarissa T. BeumerJesper B. MosbacherMikkel StelvigEva M. GreunzMarianna ChimientiFloris M. van BeestNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Niels M. Schmidt Carsten Grøndahl Alina L. Evans Jean-Pierre Desforges John Blake Lars H. Hansen Larissa T. Beumer Jesper B. Mosbacher Mikkel Stelvig Eva M. Greunz Marianna Chimienti Floris M. van Beest On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate
description	Abstract For free-ranging animals living in seasonal environments, hypometabolism (lowered metabolic rate) and hypothermia (lowered body temperature) can be effective physiological strategies to conserve energy when forage resources are low. To what extent such strategies are adopted by large mammals living under extreme conditions, as those encountered in the high Arctic, is largely unknown, especially for species where the gestation period overlaps with the period of lowest resource availability (i.e. winter). Here we investigated for the first time the level to which high arctic muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) adopt hypothermia and tested the hypothesis that individual plasticity in the use of hypothermia depends on reproductive status. We measured core body temperature over most of the gestation period in both free-ranging muskox females in Greenland and captive female muskoxen in Alaska. We found divergent overwintering strategies according to reproductive status, where pregnant females maintained stable body temperatures during winter, while non-pregnant females exhibited a temporary decrease in their winter body temperature. These results show that muskox females use hypothermia during periods of resource scarcity, but also that the use of this strategy may be limited to non-reproducing females. Our findings suggest a trade-off between metabolically-driven energy conservation during winter and sustaining foetal growth, which may also apply to other large herbivores living in highly seasonal environments elsewhere.
format	article
author	Niels M. Schmidt Carsten Grøndahl Alina L. Evans Jean-Pierre Desforges John Blake Lars H. Hansen Larissa T. Beumer Jesper B. Mosbacher Mikkel Stelvig Eva M. Greunz Marianna Chimienti Floris M. van Beest
author_facet	Niels M. Schmidt Carsten Grøndahl Alina L. Evans Jean-Pierre Desforges John Blake Lars H. Hansen Larissa T. Beumer Jesper B. Mosbacher Mikkel Stelvig Eva M. Greunz Marianna Chimienti Floris M. van Beest
author_sort	Niels M. Schmidt
title	On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate
title_short	On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate
title_full	On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate
title_fullStr	On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate
title_full_unstemmed	On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate
title_sort	on the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/e66138e6b1fa41f6a57bfdf696921992
work_keys_str_mv	AT nielsmschmidt ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT carstengrøndahl ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT alinalevans ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT jeanpierredesforges ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT johnblake ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT larshhansen ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT larissatbeumer ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT jesperbmosbacher ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT mikkelstelvig ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT evamgreunz ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT mariannachimienti ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate AT florismvanbeest ontheinterplaybetweenhypothermiaandreproductioninahigharcticungulate
_version_	1718391698773508096

On the interplay between hypothermia and reproduction in a high arctic ungulate

Ejemplares similares