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https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/8485
Title: | Thermal energetics of female big brown bats ('Eptesicus fuscus') | Contributor(s): | Willis, Craig (author); Lane, JE (author); Liknes, ET (author); Swanson, DL (author); Brigham, R Mark (author) | Publication Date: | 2005 | DOI: | 10.1139/z05-074 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/8485 | Abstract: | We investigated thermoregulation and energetics in female big brown bats, 'Eptesicus fuscus' (Beauvois, 1796). We exposed bats to a range of ambient temperatures (Ta) and used open-flow respirometry to record their metabolic responses. The bats were typically thermoconforming and almost always entered torpor at Tas below the lower critical temperature Tlc of 26.7 °C. Basal metabolic rate (BMR, 16.98 ± 2.04 mL O·₂h⁻¹, mean body mass = 15.0 ± 1.4 g) and torpid metabolic rate (TMR, 0.460 ± 0.07 mL O₂·h⁻¹, mean body mass = 14.7 ± 1.3 g) were similar to values reported for other vespertilionid bats of similar size and similar to a value for E. fuscus BMR calculated from data in a previous paper. However, we found that big brown bats had a lower Tlc and lower thermal conductance at low Ta relative to those measured in the previous study. During torpor, the minimum individual body temperature (Tb) that we recorded was 1.1 °C and the bats began defending minimum Tb at Ta of approximately 0 °C. BMR of big brown bats was 76% of that predicted for bats based on the relationship between BMR and body mass. However, the Vespert ilionidae have been under-represented in previous analyses of the relationship between BMR and body mass in bats. Our data, combined with data for other vespertilionids, suggest that the family may be characterized by a lower BMR than that predicted based on data from other groups of bats. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Canadian Journal of Zoology, 83(6), p. 871-879 | Publisher: | NRC Research Press | Place of Publication: | Canada | ISSN: | 1480-3283 0008-4301 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 060604 Comparative Physiology | Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 969999 Environment not elsewhere classified | Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article |
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