Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/3136
Title: Thermal biology, torpor and behaviour in sugar gliders: a laboratory-field comparison
Contributor(s): Geiser, Fritz  (author)orcid ; Holloway, Joanne C. (author); Koertner, Gerhard  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1007/s00360-007-0147-6
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/3136
Abstract: Most studies on animal physiology and behaviour are conducted in captivity without verification that data are representative of free-ranging animals. We provide the first quantitative comparison of daily torpor, thermal biology and activity patterns, conducted on two groups of sugar gliders ('Petaurus breviceps', Marsupialia) exposed to similar thermal conditions, one in captivity and the other in the field. Our study shows that activity in captive gliders in an outdoor aviary is restricted to the night and largely unaffected by weather, whereas free-ranging gliders omit foraging on cold/wet nights and may also forage in the afternoon. Torpor occurrence in gliders was significantly lower in captivity (8.4% after food deprivation; 1.1% for all observations) than in the field (25.9%), mean torpor bout duration was shorter in captivity (6.9 h) than in the field (13.1 h), and mean body temperatures during torpor were higher in captivity (25.3°C) than in the field (19.6°C). Moreover, normothermic body temperature as a function of air temperature differed between captive and free-ranging gliders, with a >3°C difference at low air temperatures. Our comparison shows that activity patterns, thermal physiology, use of torpor and patterns of torpor may differ substantially between the laboratory and field, and provides further evidence that functional and behavioural data on captive individuals may not necessarily be representative of those living in the wild.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 177(5), p. 495-501
Publisher: Springer
Place of Publication: Germany
ISSN: 1432-136X
0174-1578
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060604 Comparative Physiology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970106 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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