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Heterothermy in large mammals: inevitable or implemented?
Robyn S Hetem1, Shane K Maloney1,2, Andrea Fuller1
1Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, 2193, South Africa.
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
|December 19, 2014
Summary
Large mammals, especially herbivores, show reduced body temperature with increased mass. Daily temperature fluctuations, not body size, indicate energy and water stress, impacting performance.
Area of Science:
- Physiological Ecology
- Animal Thermoregulation
- Biologging
Background:
- Biologging advances enable remote monitoring of free-living mammal body temperatures.
- Research on heterothermy is abundant in small mammals but less so in large mammals.
- This review focuses on daily body temperature variability in large mammalian herbivores.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review heterothermy measures and influencing factors in large mammals.
- To investigate the relationship between body mass and thermoregulation in large herbivores.
- To explore the link between daily temperature amplitude and physiological constraints.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on heterothermy in large mammals.
- Analysis of 24-hour body core temperature rhythms in 17 species of large mammalian herbivores (>10 kg).
- Phylogenetic correction applied to assess body mass relationships.
Main Results:
- Mean 24-hour body core temperature decreased with increasing body mass (approx. 1.3°C per 10-fold increase).
- Heterothermy amplitude was independent of body mass, driven by energy and water limitations.
- Large herbivores relax thermoregulation precision to conserve resources, potentially nearing thermal performance limits.
Conclusions:
- Homeothermy is not always the highest priority; it depends on nutritional and energetic status.
- The amplitude of the 24-hour body core temperature rhythm is a valuable index of physiological compromise in large mammals.
- This index may predict animal performance and fitness under natural conditions.
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