Evolutionary shifts in the thermal biology of a subterranean mammal: the effect of habitat aridity.

ABSTRACT: Subterranean mammals representing a single subspecies occurring along an aridity gradient provide an appropriate model for investigating adaptive variation in thermal physiology with varying levels of precipitation and air temperature. This study examined the thermal physiological adaptations of common mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) across five populations along an aridity gradient, challenging the expectation that increased aridity would lead to reduced metabolic rate, lower body temperatures and broader thermoneutral zones. No significant, consistent differences in metabolic rate, body temperature or thermal conductance were observed between populations, suggesting uniform thermoregulatory mechanisms across habitats. Instead, behavioural strategies such as huddling and tor

SUBMITTER: Merchant HN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11698034 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature