Torpor use during gestation and lactation in a primate |
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Authors: | Canale Cindy I Perret Martine Henry Pierre-Yves |
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Institution: | (1) UMR 7179 CNRS-MNHN, D?partement Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversit?, Mus?um National d’Histoire Naturelle, 1 avenue du Petit Ch?teau, 91800 Brunoy, France |
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Abstract: | Torpor is an energy-saving mechanism that allows endotherms to overcome energetic challenges. Torpor should be avoided during
reproduction because of potential incompatibility with offspring growth. To test if torpor can be used during gestation and
lactation to compensate for food shortage, we exposed reproductive female grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus), a heterothermic primate, to different levels of food availability. Torpor use was characterised by daily skin temperature
profiles, and its energetic outcome was assessed from changes in body mass. Food shortage triggered torpor during the end
of the gestation period (n = 1), ranging from shallow in response to 40% food restriction to deep daily torpor in response to 80% restriction. During
the early period of lactation, females fed ad libitum (n = 2) or exposed to a 40% restriction (n = 4) remained normothermic; but 80% food restricted females (n = 5) gave priority to energy saving, increasing the frequency and depth of torpor bouts. The use of torpor was insufficient
to compensate for 80% energetic shortage during lactation resulting in loss of mass from the mother and delayed growth in
the pups. This study provides the first evidence that a heterothermic primate can use torpor to compensate for food shortages
even during reproduction. This physiological flexibility likely evolved as a response to climate-driven fluctuations in food
availability in Madagascar. |
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