Phenotypic flexibility of energetics in acclimated Siberian hamsters has a narrower scope in winter than in summer.

ABSTRACT: As photoperiod shortens with the approach of winter, small mammals should reduce their energy expenditure to survive periods of food limitation. However, within seasons, animals should balance their energy budgets as abiotic conditions change, sometimes unpredictably; cold spells should increase heat production, while warm spells should do the opposite. Therefore, we addressed specific questions about the possible interactions between seasonal acclimatization and the intra-seasonal phenotypic flexibility of metabolic rate. We hypothesized that phenotypic flexibility in small mammals differs seasonally and is greater in summer than in winter, and predicted that seasonal adjustments in energetics, which are driven by photoperiod, overwhelm the influence of variations in the thermal environme

SUBMITTER: Boratynski JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4791479 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature