The upper limit of thermoneutrality is not indicative of thermotolerance in bats.

To assess the vulnerability of birds and mammals to climate change recent studies have used the upper critical limit of thermoneutrality (T) as an indicator of thermal tolerance. But, the association between T and thermal tolerance is not straightforward and most studies describe T based solely on a deviation in metabolism from basal levels, without also considering the onset of evaporative cooling. It was argued recently that certain torpor-using bat species who survived prolonged exposure to high ambient temperatures (i.

High levels of metacercarial infestation (family: Diplostomidae) do not affect host energetics and swimming performance in the Epaulette goby (Coryogalops sordidus, Gobiidae).

Parasites have deleterious effects on their hosts, often resulting in altered host behavior or increased energy expenditure. When organisms are exposed to suboptimal environments, parasite loading may increase. Microbialite pools along the warm temperate South African coastline have been hypothesized as refugia for Epaulette gobies (Coryogalops sordidus, Gobiidae) when they are outside of their previously known subtropical distribution.

Non-Torpid Heterothermy in Mammals: Another Category along the Homeothermy-Hibernation Continuum.

Variability in body temperature is now recognized to be widespread among whole-body endotherms with homeothermy being the exception rather than the norm. A wide range of body temperature patterns exists in extant endotherms, spanning from strict homeothermy, to occasional use of torpor, to deep seasonal hibernation with many points in between. What is often lost in discussions of heterothermy in endotherms are the benefits of variations in body temperature outside of torpor.

Obligatory homeothermy of mesic habitat-adapted African striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, is governed by seasonal basal metabolism and year-round 'thermogenic readiness' of brown adipose tissue.

Small mammals undergo thermoregulatory adjustments in response to changing environmental conditions. Whereas small heterothermic mammals can employ torpor to save energy in the cold, homeothermic species must increase heat production to defend normothermia through the recruitment of brown adipose tissue (BAT). Here, we studied thermoregulatory adaptation in an obligate homeotherm, the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio), captured from a subpopulation living in a mesic, temperate climate with marked seasonal differences.

Searching for the Haplorrhine Heterotherm: Field and Laboratory Data of Free-Ranging Tarsiers.

The observation of heterothermy in a single suborder (Strepsirrhini) only within the primates is puzzling. Given that the placental-mammal ancestor was likely a heterotherm, we explored the potential for heterothermy in a primate closely related to the Strepsirrhini. Based upon phylogeny, body size and habitat stability since the Late Eocene, we selected western tarsiers () from the island of Borneo.

Ticks of four-toed elephant shrews and Southern African hedgehogs.

Several studies on ticks infesting small mammals, including elephant shrews, have been conducted in South Africa; however, these studies have included only a single four-toed elephant shrew and no hedgehogs. This study thus aimed to identify and quantify the ixodid ticks infesting four-toed elephant shrews and Southern African hedgehogs. Four-toed elephant shrews (Petrodromus tetradactylus) were trapped in dense shrub undergrowth in a nature reserve in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal.