Fasting Biochemistry of Representative Spontaneous and Facultative Hibernators : The White-Tailed Prairie Dog and the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog
نویسندگان
چکیده
The white-tailed prairie dog is a spontaneous hibernator that enters an anorexic state followed by torpor in early fall. The black-tailed prairie dog is a facultative hibernator that enters torpor only when deprived offood and water in the winter. The physiological state of hibernation is similar to a Phase II euthermic fast characterized by elevated fat catabolism, increased blood ketone bodies, and conservation ofprotein tissues. It was hypothesized that these spontaneous and facultative hibernators use fat and protein differently during a fast prior to the hibernation season. Weekly blood and urine samples were taken from both species during a 5-wk period offood and water deprivation. The black-tailed prairie dog lost mass at a greater rate and had a larger daily urine volume and urea, ammonia, and potassium excretion, as well as a higherplasma urea/creatinine ratio, all of which define a greater rate of protein catabolism for this species than for the white-tailed prairie dog. The black-tailed prairie dog, therefore, does not conserve protein to the same extent as the white-tailed prairie dog during a Phase Il fast typical of hibernation starvation. Ketone bodies do not appear to regulate protein catabolism directly. But the greater protein catabolism by the black-tailed prairie dog may be related to pH and water balance requirements that are circumvented in the white-tailed prairie dog by engaging in spontaneous torpor. Both species evolved from populations of ancestral prairie dogs that have retained the ability to hibernate spontaneously. It is hypothesized that the black-tailed prairie dogs may not have maintained the capacity for a deep Phase II, protein-conserving state t'pical of hibernation starvation but keep an active profile throughout winter, relying to a greater extent on protein catabolism in response to selective pressures of greaterpredation, higher food abundance, and perhaps a need to preserve fat stores for reproduction. Physiological Zoology 68(5):915-934. 1995. c 1995 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0031-935X/95/6805-9454$02.00
منابع مشابه
Vascular Plant Communities Associated with Black-tailed Prairie Dog Colonies in Southern Shortgrass Prairie
The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), a large burrowing rodent found in grasslands of the western Great Plains, once occurred over approximately 40 million ha before European settlement (13). Prairie dogs (C. ludovicianus, C. leucurus, C. gunnisoni, and C. parvidens) covered approximately 283 million ha in the late 1800s Vascular Plant Communities Associated with Black-tailed Pra...
متن کاملRelation of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs and Control Programs to Vegetation, Livestock, and Wildlife
Black-tailed prairie dogs, Cynomys ludovicianus (Ord), have been considered to be pests on shortgrass and mixedgrass prairies of central North America since the late 1800's (Merriam 1902). Because prairie dogs compete for forage with livestock, massive prairie dog control programs were initiated and are still a common practice (Schenbeck 1982). Prairie dog control also has been justified to red...
متن کامل20,25-Diazacholesterol as an oral contraceptive for black-tailed prairie dog population management
Black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies can become overcrowded, and the colonies, landscape, and people affected by them may benefi t from controlled populations. Contraception is a method that may be useful, particularly where lethal control is inappropriate or illegal. We investigated if oral administration of 20,25-diazacholesterol (DiazaCon®), an inhibitor of cholesterol an...
متن کاملAvoidance of skeletal muscle atrophy in spontaneous and facultative hibernators.
Smooth and skeletal muscle changes were compared from overwintering white-tailed prairie dogs, spontaneous hibernators that undergo regular, low-temperature torpor bouts, and black-tailed prairie dogs, facultative hibernators that use sporadic, moderate-temperature torpor bouts. The objectives were to assess the abilities of these two species with dramatically different torpor patterns (1) to c...
متن کاملMonitoring Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies with High-Resolution Satellite Imagery
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) warrants listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Central to any conservation planning for the black-tailed prairie dog is an appropriate detection and monitoring technique. Because coarse-resolution satellite imagery is not adequate to detect black-tailed...
متن کامل