Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/20600
Title: Snoozing through the storm: torpor use during a natural disaster
Contributor(s): Nowack, Julia  (author); Rojas, A Daniella (author); Koertner, Gerhard  (author)orcid ; Geiser, Fritz  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2015
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.1038/srep11243Open Access Link
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/20600
Abstract: Although storms provide an extreme environmental challenge to organisms and are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change, there are no quantitative observations on the behaviour and physiology of animals during natural disasters. We provide the first data on activity and thermal biology of a free-ranging, arboreal mammal during a storm with heavy rain and category 1 cyclone wind speeds. We studied a population of sugar gliders ('Petaurus breviceps'), a species vulnerable to bad weather due to their small body size and mode of locomotion, in a subtropical habitat during spring when storms are common. Although torpor is generally rare in this species, sugar gliders remained inactive or reduced foraging times during the storm and further minimized energy demands by entering deep torpor. All animals survived the storm and reverted to normal foraging activity during the following night(s). It thus appears that heterothermic mammals have a crucial adaptive advantage over homeothermic species as they can outlast challenging weather events, such as storms and floods, by reducing metabolism and thus energetic needs.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Scientific Reports, v.5, p. 1-6
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 2045-2322
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060806 Animal Physiological Ecology
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 310907 Animal physiological ecology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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