Abstract
The effects of food quality (dietary protein content) and food quantity (ad lib vs food-restriction) on torpor were determined in six stripe-faced dunnarts (Sminthopsis macroura) by measuring metabolic rate (MR) at Ta of 18°C. The aims of the study were to determine whether increased dietary protein content delays the commencement of torpor and reduces the duration of torpor and whether food restriction induces torpor earlier and for a longer period. There was no effect of dietary protein content on torpor, irrespective of whether S. macroura were food-restricted or whether food was available ad lib. Torpor in foodrestricted S. macroura occurred earlier, was deeper and lasted longer. Food-restricted S. macroura lost less weight during torpor. Food-restriction also reduced average daily metabolic rate.
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Withers, K.W., White, D.H., Billingsley, J. (2000). Torpor in the Carnivorous Marsupial Sminthopsis macroura: Effects of Food Quality and Quantity. In: Heldmaier, G., Klingenspor, M. (eds) Life in the Cold. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04162-8_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04162-8_14
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