A Shift in the Thermoregulatory Curve as a Result of Selection for High Activity-Related Aerobic Metabolism

According to the “aerobic capacity model,” endothermy in birds and mammals evolved as a result of natural selection favoring increased persistent locomotor activity, fuelled by aerobic metabolism. However, this also increased energy expenditure even during rest, with the lowest metabolic rates occurring in the thermoneutral zone (TNZ) and increasing at ambient temperatures (T_a) below and above this range, depicted by the thermoregulatory curve. In our experimental evolution system, four lines of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) have been selected for high swim-induced aerobic metabolism and four unselected lines have been maintained as a control. In addition to a 50% higher rate of oxygen consumption during swimming, the selected lines have also evolved a 7.3% higher mass-adjusted basal metabolic rate. Therefore, we asked whether voles from selected lines would also display a shift in the thermoregulatory curve and an increased body temperature (T_b) during exposure to high T_a. To test these hypotheses we measured the RMR and T_b of selected and control voles at T_a from 10 to 34°C. As expected, RMR within and around the TNZ was higher in selected lines. Further, the T_b of selected lines within the TNZ was greater than the T_b of control lines, particularly at the maximum measured T_a of 34°C, suggesting that selected voles are more prone to hyperthermia. Interestingly, our results revealed that while the slope of the thermoregulatory curve below the lower critical temperature (LCT) is significantly lower in the selected lines, the LCT (26.1°C) does not differ. Importantly, selected voles also evolved a higher maximum thermogenesis, but thermal conductance did not increase. As a consequence, the minimum tolerated temperature, calculated from an extrapolation of the thermoregulatory curve, is 8.4°C lower in selected (−28.6°C) than in control lines (−20.2°C). Thus, selection for high aerobic exercise performance, even though operating under thermally neutral conditions, has resulted in the evolution of increased cold tolerance, which, under natural conditions, could allow voles to inhabit colder environments. Further, the results of the current experiment support the assumptions of the aerobic capacity model of the evolution of endothermy.

Post-fire recovery of torpor and activity patterns of a small mammal

To cope with the post-fire challenges of decreased availability of food and shelter, brown antechinus (Antechinus stuartii), a small marsupial mammal, increase the use of energy-conserving torpor and reduce activity. However, it is not known how long it takes for animals to resume pre-fire torpor and activity patterns during the recovery of burnt habitat. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that antechinus will adjust torpor use and activity after a fire depending on vegetation recovery. We simultaneously quantified torpor and activity patterns for female antechinus from three adjacent areas: (i) the area of a management burn 1 year post-fire, (ii) an area that was burned 2 years prior, and (iii) a control area. In comparison to shortly after the management burn, antechinus in all three groups displayed less frequent and less pronounced torpor while being more active. We provide the first evidence that only 1 year post-fire antechinus resume pre-fire torpor and activity patterns, probably in response to the return of herbaceous ground cover and foraging opportunities.

A new cue for torpor induction: charcoal, ash and smoke

Recent work has shown that the use of torpor for energy conservation increases after forest fires in heterothermic mammals, probably in response to the reduction of food. However, the specific environmental cues for this increased torpor expression remain unknown. It is possible that smoke and the novel substrate of charcoal and ash act as signals for an impending period of starvation requiring torpor. We therefore tested the hypothesis that the combined cues of smoke, a charcoal/ash substrate and food shortage will enhance torpor expression in a small forest-dwelling marsupial, the yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes), because like other animals that live in fire-prone habitats they must effectively respond to fires to ensure survival. Activity and body temperature patterns of individuals in outdoor aviaries were measured under natural environmental conditions. All individuals were strictly nocturnal, but diurnal activity was observed shortly after smoke exposure. Overall, torpor in females was longer and deeper than that in males. Interestingly, while both males and females increased daily torpor duration during food restriction by >2-fold as anticipated, a combination of food restriction and smoke exposure on a charcoal/ash substrate further increased daily torpor duration by ∼2-fold in both sexes. These data show that this combination of cues for torpor induction is stronger than food shortage on its own. Our study provides significant new information on how a small forest-dwelling mammal responds to fire cues during and immediately after a fire and identifies a new, not previously recognised, regulatory mechanism for thermal biology in mammals.

Cold-hearted bats: uncoupling of heart rate and metabolism during torpor at subzero temperatures

Many hibernating animals thermoregulate during torpor and defend their body temperature (Tb) below 10°C by an increase in metabolic rate. Above a critical temperature (Tcrit) animals usually thermoconform. We investigated the physiological responses above and below Tcrit for a small tree dwelling bat (Chalinolobus gouldii, ∼14 g) that is often exposed to subzero temperatures during winter. Through simultaneous measurement of heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (V̇O2) we show that the relationship between oxygen transport and cardiac function is substantially altered in thermoregulating torpid bats between 1 and -2°C, compared with thermoconforming torpid bats at mild ambient temperatures (Ta 5-20°C). Tcrit for this species was Ta 0.7±0.4°C, with a corresponding Tb of 1.8±1.2°C. Below Tcrit animals began to thermoregulate, indicated by a considerable but disproportionate increase in both HR and V̇O2. The maximum increase in HR was only 4-fold greater than the average thermoconforming minimum, compared to a 46-fold increase in V̇O2. The differential response of HR and V̇O2 to low Ta was reflected in a 15-fold increase in oxygen delivery per heart beat (cardiac oxygen pulse). During torpor at low Ta, thermoregulating bats maintained a relatively slow HR and compensated for increased metabolic demands by significantly increasing stroke volume and tissue oxygen extraction. Our study provides new information on the relationship between metabolism and HR in an unstudied physiological state that may occur frequently in the wild and can be extremely costly for heterothermic animals.

Evolution of basal metabolic rate in bank voles from a multidirectional selection experiment

A major theme in evolutionary and ecological physiology of terrestrial vertebrates encompasses the factors underlying the evolution of endothermy in birds and mammals and interspecific variation of basal metabolic rate (BMR). Here, we applied the experimental evolution approach and compared BMR in lines of a wild rodent, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), selected for 11 generations for: high swim-induced aerobic metabolism (A), ability to maintain body mass on a low-quality herbivorous diet (H) and intensity of predatory behaviour towards crickets (P). Four replicate lines were maintained for each of the selection directions and an unselected control (C). In comparison to C lines, A lines achieved a 49% higher maximum rate of oxygen consumption during swimming, H lines lost 1.3 g less mass in the test with low-quality diet and P lines attacked crickets five times more frequently. BMR was significantly higher in A lines than in C or H lines (60.8, 56.6 and 54.4 ml O2 h(-1), respectively), and the values were intermediate in P lines (59.0 ml O2 h(-1)). Results of the selection experiment provide support for the hypothesis of a positive association between BMR and aerobic exercise performance, but not for the association of adaptation to herbivorous diet with either a high or low BMR.

The importance of mammalian torpor for survival in a post-fire landscape

Wildfires have increased in frequency and intensity worldwide with climate change as a main driving factor. While a number of studies have focused on population changes in regard to fires, there are essentially no quantitative data on behavioural and physiological adjustments that are vital for the persistence of individuals during and after fires. Here we show that brown antechinus, a small insectivorous marsupial mammal, (i) endured a prescribed fire in situ, (ii) remained in their scorched home range despite unburned areas nearby, and (iii) substantially increased post-fire torpor use and thus reduced foraging requirements and exposure to predators. Hence, torpor is a physiological adaptation that, although not quantified in this context previously, appears to play a key role in post-fire survival for this and other heterothermic species.

Effect of roost choice on winter torpor patterns of a free-ranging insectivorous bat

Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) is one of only three native Australian mammals with an Australia-wide distribution. However, currently no data are available on the thermal physiology of free-ranging C. gouldii. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the effect of roost choice on daily skin temperature fluctuations during winter in C. gouldii living in an agricultural landscape in a temperate region. Ambient conditions consisted of long periods below 0°C and snow. Some individuals roosted high in dead branches whereas one individual roosted in a large cavity located low in a live tree. Torpor was employed on every day of the study period by all bats, with bouts lasting for over five days. The skin temperature of individuals in the dead branches tracked ambient temperature, with skin temperatures below 3°C on 67% of bat-days (lowest recorded –0.2°C). In contrast, the individual in the tree cavity maintained a larger skin-ambient temperature differential, likely influenced by the internal cavity temperature. Our study presents the lowest skin temperature recorded for a free-ranging Australian microbat and reveals that roost choice affects the thermal physiology of C. gouldii, ensuring survival during periods of cold weather and limited food supply.

Effect of Selection for High Activity-Related Metabolism on Membrane Phospholipid Fatty Acid Composition in Bank Voles

Endothermy, high basal metabolic rates (BMRs), and high locomotor-related metabolism were important steps in the evolution of mammals. It has been proposed that the composition of membrane phospholipid fatty acids plays an important role in energy metabolism and exercise muscle physiology. In particular, the membrane pacemaker theory of metabolism suggests that an increase in cell membrane fatty acid unsaturation would result in an increase in BMR. We aimed to determine whether membrane phospholipid fatty acid composition of heart, liver, and gastrocnemius muscles differed between lines of bank voles selected for high swim-induced aerobic metabolism-which also evolved an increased BMR-and unselected control lines. Proportions of fatty acids significantly differed among the organs: liver was the least unsaturated, whereas the gastrocnemius muscles were most unsaturated. However, fatty acid proportions of the heart and liver did not differ significantly between selected and control lines. In gastrocnemius muscles, significant differences between selection directions were found: compared to control lines, membranes of selected voles were richer in saturated C18:0 and unsaturated C18:2n-6 and C18:3n-3, whereas the pattern was reversed for saturated C16:0 and unsaturated C20:4n-6. Neither unsaturation index nor other combined indexes of fatty acid proportions differed between lines. Thus, our results do not support the membrane pacemaker hypothesis. However, the differences between selected and control lines in gastrocnemius muscles reflect chain lengths rather than number of double bonds and are probably related to differences in locomotor activity per se rather than to differences in the basal or routine metabolic rate.

Increased lyrebird presence in a post-fire landscape

Prescribed fires for fuel reduction affect wildlife in several ways. We observed a marked increase in superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) numbers after a controlled burn in Guy Fawkes River National Park, New South Wales, in April and May 2014. The fire occurred during the winter breeding season; however, congregations of males were often seen together in the burnt landscape, indicating an opportunistic prioritisation of foraging. The low-intensity fire cleared brush and low-level vegetation, thus decreasing foraging effort and potentially attracting the species despite the need to seek mating partners. Controlled burns therefore have the potential to attract superb lyrebirds immediately after fire due to ease of movement and foraging effort.

Selection for high activity-related aerobic metabolism does not alter the capacity of non-shivering thermogenesis in bank voles

An intriguing question is how the capacity of non-shivering thermogenesis (NST)-a special mechanism supporting endothermic thermoregulation in mammals-is affected by selection for high exercise metabolism. It has been proposed that high NST could be a mechanism to compensate for a low basal production of heat. On the other hand, high basal or activity metabolism is associated with physiological characteristics such as high performance of the circulatory system, which are also required for achieving a high NST. Here we tested whether selection for high aerobic exercise performance, which correlates with an increased basal metabolic rate, led to a correlated evolution of maximum and facultative NST. Therefore, we measured the NST of bank voles, Myodes (= Clethrionomys) glareolus, from lines selected for 13-14 generations (n=46) for high aerobic metabolism achieved during swimming and from unselected, control lines (n=46). Open-flow respirometry was used to measure the rate of oxygen consumption (V(·)O2) in anesthetized bank voles injected with noradrenaline (NA). After adjusting for body mass, maximum NST (maximum V(·)O2 recorded after injection of NA) did not differ between the selected (2.38±0.08 mLO2min(-1)) and control lines (2.36±0.08 mLO2min(-1); P=0.891). Facultative NST (= maximum NST minus resting metabolic rate of anesthetized animals) did not differ between the selected (1.49±0.07 mLO2min(-1)) and control lines (1.50±0.07 mLO2min(-1); P=0.985), either. Therefore, our results suggest that NST capacity is not strongly linked to maximum activity-related aerobic metabolic rate.

Will temperature effects or phenotypic plasticity determine the thermal response of a heterothermic tropical bat to climate change?

The proportion of organisms exposed to warm conditions is predicted to increase during global warming. To better understand how bats might respond to climate change, we aimed to obtain the first data on how use of torpor, a crucial survival strategy of small bats, is affected by temperature in the tropics. Over two mild winters, tropical free-ranging bats (Nyctophilus bifax, 10 g, n = 13) used torpor on 95% of study days and were torpid for 33.5±18.8% of 113 days measured. Torpor duration was temperature-dependent and an increase in ambient temperature by the predicted 2°C for the 21^st century would decrease the time in torpor to 21.8%. However, comparisons among Nyctophilus populations show that regional phenotypic plasticity attenuates temperature effects on torpor patterns. Our data suggest that heterothermy is important for energy budgeting of bats even under warm conditions and that flexible torpor use will enhance bats’ chance of survival during climate change.

Capture and care of northern long-eared bats (Nyctophilus bifax) and seasonal changes in insect abundance

Seasonal capture rates of insectivorous subtropical and tropical Australian northern long-eared bats (Nyctophilus bifax) (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in relation to ambient temperature and insect abundance were examined. Insect abundance varied seasonally in a subtropical region and also between subtropical and tropical habitats during winter, and decreased as nightly ambient temperature decreased. While capture rates of N. bifax were not affected by ambient temperatures and insect abundance, most captures occurred within one hour after sunset, which is generally the time of highest activity levels in microbats. Methods of care of N. bifax in captivity are also reported. N. bifax adapted well to short-term captivity (up to 14 days) and readily accepted mealworms as a food source.

Hibernation and torpor in tropical and subtropical bats in relation to energetics, extinctions, and the evolution of endothermy

Torpor, the most effective means of energy conservation available to endotherms, is still widely viewed as a specific adaptation in a few high-latitude, cold-climate endotherms with no adaptive function in warm regions. Nevertheless, a growing number of diverse terrestrial mammals and birds from low latitudes (0-30°), including species from tropical and subtropical regions, are heterothermic and employ torpor. Use of torpor is especially important for bats because they are small, expend large amounts of energy when active, rely on a fluctuating food supply, and have only a limited capacity for storage of fat. Patterns of torpor in tropical/subtropical bats are highly variable, but short bouts of torpor with relatively high body temperatures (T(b)) are most common. Hibernation (a sequence of multiday bouts of torpor) has been reported for free-ranging subtropical tree-dwelling vespertilionids, cave-dwelling hipposiderids, and house-dwelling molossids. The observed range of minimum T(b) is ∼6-30 °C, and the reduction of energy expenditure through the use of torpor, in comparison to normothermic values, ranges from 50 to 99%. Overall, torpor in the tropics/subtropics has been reported for 10 out of the currently recognized 18 bat families, which contain 1079 species, or 96.7% of all bats. Although it is unlikely that all of these are heterothermic, the large majority probably will be. Frequent use of torpor, including hibernation in diverse groups of tropical/subtropical bats, suggests that heterothermy is an ancestral chiropteran trait. Although data especially from the field are still scarce, it is likely that torpor, highly effective in reducing requirements for energy and water even under warm conditions, plays a crucial role in the long-term survival of the majority of small tropical and subtropical bats. Discovering how bats achieve this provides numerous opportunities for exiting new research.

Do season and distribution affect thermal energetics of a hibernating bat endemic to the tropics and subtropics?

Although many tropical and subtropical areas experience pronounced seasonal changes in weather and food availability, few studies have examined and none have compared the thermal physiology and energetics of a hibernating mammal that is restricted to these regions. We quantified thermal energetics of northern long-eared bats (Nyctophilus bifax; body mass ∼10 g) during summer, winter, and spring from a subtropical habitat, and also during winter from a tropical habitat, to determine how N. bifax cope with climate and seasonal changes in weather. We captured bats in the wild and measured metabolic rates via open-flow respirometry. The basal metabolic rate of subtropical bats at an ambient temperature (T(a)) of 32.6 ± 0.7°C was 1.28 ± 0.06 ml O(2)·g(-1)·h(-1) during both summer and winter, similar to other species of Nyctophilus. Resting metabolic rates below the thermoneutral zone increased similarly with decreasing T(a) during all seasons and in both regions. All individuals showed a high proclivity to enter torpor at T(a) values below the thermoneutral zone. Metabolic rates in torpid thermoconforming bats fell with T(a) and body temperature, and mean minimum metabolic rates during torpor were similar during all seasons and in both regions and as predicted from body mass in temperate zone hibernators. At very low T(a), torpid N. bifax thermoregulated, and this threshold T(a) differed significantly between subtropical (T(a) = 3.5 ± 0.3°C) and tropical (T(a) = 6.7 ± 0.7°C) individuals, but not between seasons. Our data show that thermal energetics of N. bifax do not vary seasonally and in many aspects are similar in tropical and subtropical bats; however, torpid individuals from the subtropics allow body temperature to fall to significantly lower values than those from the tropics.