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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

The Interplay of Energy Balance and Daily Timing of Activity in a Subterranean Rodent: A Laboratory and Field Approach

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Author(s):
Tachinardi, Patricia [1] ; Valentinuzzi, Veronica S. [2] ; Oda, Gisele A. [1] ; Buck, C. Loren [3]
Total Authors: 4
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Ctr Reg Invest Cient & Transferencia Tecnol CRILA, La Rioja - Argentina
[3] No Arizona Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Ctr Bioengn Innovat, Flagstaff, AZ 86011 - USA
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ZOOLOGY; v. 90, n. 5, p. 546-552, SEP-OCT 2017.
Web of Science Citations: 2
Abstract

The tuco-tuco (Ctenomys aff. knighti) is among the rodent species known to be nocturnal under standard laboratory conditions and diurnal under natural conditions. The circadian thermoenergetics (CTE) hypothesis postulates that switches in activity timing are a response to energetic challenges; daytime activity reduces thermoregulatory costs by consolidating activity to the warmest part of the day. Studying wild animals under both captive and natural conditions can increase understanding of how temporal activity patterns are shaped by the environment and could serve as a test of the CTE hypothesis. We estimated the effects of activity timing on energy expenditure for the tuco-tuco by combining laboratory measurements of metabolic rate with environmental temperature records in both winter and summer. We showed that, in winter, there would be considerable energy savings if activity is allocated at least partially during daylight, lending support to the CTE hypothesis. In summer, the impact of activity timing on energy expenditure is small, suggesting that during this season other factors, such as predation risk, water balance, and social interaction, may have more important roles than energetics in the determination of activity time. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 12/23393-5 - Daily patterns of energy expenditure in the subterranean rodent Ctenomys aff. knighti, the tuco-tuco
Grantee:Patricia Tachinardi Andrade Silva
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
FAPESP's process: 14/20671-0 - Chronobiology of South American subterranean rodents, in laboratory and field
Grantee:Gisele Akemi Oda
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 12/15767-2 - Laboratory and field chronobiology in subterranean rodents (Ctenomys aff. knighti)
Grantee:Gisele Akemi Oda
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants