Effects of reproduction and environmental factors on body temperature and activity patterns of wolverines.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mammals in the far north are exposed to extreme seasonal changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature and photoperiod, which have notable effects on animal physiology and behaviour. The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is a carnivore with a circumpolar distribution and well-adapted to extreme environmental conditions. Still, ecophysiological studies on free-ranging wolverines are lacking. In this study, we used abdominally implanted body temperature loggers in combination with GPS collars with acceleration sensors on 14 free-ranging wolverines in northern Sweden to study daily and seasonal variation in body temperature and activity patterns. We used generalized additive mixed modelling to investigate body temperature patterns over time and Lomb-Scargle periodogra

SUBMITTER: Thiel A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6580505 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature