The energetic cost of arousal from torpor in the marsupial Sminthopsis macroura : benefits of summer ambient temperature cycles

Abstract

The costs of arousal from induced torpor were measured in the striped-faced dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura; ca. 25 g) under two experimental ambient temperature cycles. The sinusoidal-type temperature cycles were designed to evaluate the effects of passive, ambient temperature heating during arousal from torpor in these insectivorous marsupials. It was hypothesised that diel ambient temperature cycles may offer significant energy savings during arousal in animals that employ daily torpor in summer as a response to unpredictable food availability. The cost of arousal in animals in which passive, exogenous heating occurred was significantly lower than that in animals not exposed to an ambient temperature cycle. The total cost of all three phases of torpor (entry, maintenance and arousal) was almost halved when animals were exposed to an ambient heating cycle from 15 °C to 25 °C over a 24-h period. In all animals, irrespective of the experimental ambient temperature cycle employed, the minimum torpor body temperature was 17–18 °C. The body temperature (T_b) of animals exposed to exogenous heating increased from the torpor T_b minimum to a mean value of 22.59 °C before endogenous heat production commenced. This relatively small increase in T_b of ca. 5 °C through `free' passive heating was sufficient to account for the significant ca. three-fold decrease in the cost of arousal and may represent an important energetic aid to free-ranging animals.