Baby in the bathwater: Should we abandon the use of body temperature thresholds to quantify expression of torpor?

Boyles et al. (this issue) argue against the use of body temperature (T_b) thresholds to quantify the expression of torpor in endotherms and our purpose is to provide a counterpoint argument. We contend that T_b thresholds provide valuable information about ecological factors influencing the evolution of thermoregulation. We also point out shortcomings of the so-called heterothermy index proposed as an alternative. However, to be clear, we do agree with Boyles et al. (this issue) that the use of torpor thresholds can limit some aspects of the study of thermoregulation and applaud the more widespread incorporation of theoretical underpinnings proposed by Boyles et al. (this issue) and others.     

Error propagation across levels of organization: from chemical stability of ribosomal RNA to developmental stability

My hypothesis integrates molecular and whole-organism levels of development. A physico-chemical property of nucleotides (their dipole moment), confers structural thermostability on double-stranded sequences, and decreases chemical stability of single-stranded sequences. According to this approach, low ribosomal RNA stability should decrease the precision of protein synthesis and whole-organism developmental stability. Indeed, substitution frequencies in pseudogenes are proportional to the subtraction of the dipole moment of the substituting nucleotide from that of the substituted one, and developmental instability, estimated by morphological fluctuating asymmetry (FA), correlates with mammal 12s rRNA base content of loop (but not stem) regions. In lizards, fit to the single-strand rationale of sequence chemical stability decreases with the level of poikilothermy of the investigated lizard family, suggesting interactions between changes in body temperature, ribosomal structure and developmental instability. Results confirm the hypothesis (less than for 12s rRNA) in: third codon positions of cytochrome B, probably because, unlike rRNAs, specific mRNAs affect only the protein they code; and 16s rRNA, apparently because its base composition is more affected by genome-wide mutational biases than that of 12s rRNA.     

The impact of lambing stress on post-parturient behaviour of sheep with consequences on neonatal homeothermy and survival

During lambing the expression of an appropriate behavioural response from both the ewe and the lamb are extremely important to lamb survival. The aim of this study was to show the effect of length and difficulty of the birth process on the expression of maternal and neonatal behaviour with consequences on homeothermy and survival of the neonate lamb. Data were collected from 61 Finnish Landrace × Rahmani crossbred (second generation) primiparous ewes and their single born lambs. Based on the average length of parturition, the ewes were grouped into short birth (less than 32.5 min) and long birth (equal to or higher than 32.5 min) classes. The data recorded include maternal and neonatal behaviour, lamb body temperature over the first 3 days of life and survival rate of the neonate lamb during the first week after birth. Blood samples were also collected from the lamb, pre-suckling and at 24 and 72 h after birth. The obtained sera were assayed for thyroid hormones (T₃ and T₄) that are associated with heat production. Ewes that had prolonged and difficult births did not show competent maternal behaviour compared to mothers with short and un-complicated deliveries, as they were slower to begin grooming their lambs after birth, spent less time licking their lambs, made less low-pitched vocalizations and nosing, were more likely to show rejection behaviour (10.34 % vs 5.4 %, P < 0.05), and were more likely to move away when the lamb sought the udder in an attempt to suck (acceptance rate, 55.5 % vs 64.79 %, P < 0.05). Similarly, lambs from a prolonged and difficult birth were significantly less vigorous after birth, as they had taken more time to stand, reach the udder and to suck successfully. These lambs had lower serum concentrations of T₃ and T₄, and they also had a reduced ability to maintain body temperature after birth. This effect persisted over the first 3 days of life and was associated with higher neonatal mortality in the first week after birth (11.54 %), compared to lambs from short and non-stressful birth processes (2.86 %, P < 0.01). From the present study, it can be concluded that, prolonged deliveries with birthing difficulty were one of the main causes of death of large, single-born lambs, as these complications cause the expression of inappropriate behavioural responses from both the ewe and neonatal lamb. Thus, interventions designed to reduce the incidence of prolonged parturitions are likely to be associated with better welfare for the ewe and the lamb and consequently improved lamb homeothermy and survival.     

布氏田鼠体温调节能力的胎后发育

为探讨布氏田鼠幼体体温调节能力的发育特点,我们对其胎后发育过程中代谢产热和体温的变化进行了观察。测定记录了1—40日龄的布氏田鼠幼体在巢中的体温,在23℃和30℃条件下的静止代谢率,以及在23℃和30℃时暴露1．52h后体温的变化,计算了幼体的总热传导率和恒温指数,并测定了聚群对幼体代谢产热的影响。布氏田鼠是典型的晚成型发育类型,幼体出生时身体裸露,体温调节能力很差。17日龄前,幼体在23℃冷暴露1．5—2h不能维持恒定的体温,9—17日龄幼体的恒温能力发育迅速,1713龄后幼体在23℃时开始表现出有效的恒温能力。幼体发育过程中逐渐升高的恒温指数和逐渐下降的总热传导率,也反映了幼体不断增强的恒温能力。虽然幼体在发育早期恒温能力差,表现出变温性的特点,但代谢率的测定表明,即使刚出生的幼体也具有受到冷刺激而增加产热的反应。聚群实验结果表明,幼体的聚群行为在降低代谢率、节约能量方面有明显的作用。巢中幼体体温的测定表明,1—40日龄幼体体温逐渐升高的趋势明显,且始终保持在33℃以上。这些结果说明,布氏田鼠的幼体在生长发育过程中,主要靠细致的母体关怀、聚群行为、巢的保温作用以及自身较弱的产热能力来使体温维持在较高的水平,从而不会因体温过低而使幼体的生长速度降低[动物学报51（5）：780—789,2005]。     

Patterns of Vertebrate Isochore Evolution Revealed by Comparison of Expressed Mammalian,Avian, and Crocodilian Genes

Vertebrate genomes are mosaics of isochores, defined as long (>100 kb) regions with relatively homogeneous within-region base composition. Birds and mammals have more GC-rich isochores than amphibians and fish, and the GC-rich isochores of birds and mammals have been suggested to be an adaptation to homeothermy. If this hypothesis is correct, all poikilothermic (cold-blooded) vertebrates, including the nonavian reptiles, are expected to lack a GC-rich isochore structure. Previous studies using various methods to examine isochore structure in crocodilians, turtles, and squamates have led to different conclusions. We collected more than 6000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the American alligator to overcome sample size limitations suggested to be the fundamental problem in the previous reptilian studies. The alligator ESTs were assembled and aligned with their human, mouse, chicken, and western clawed frog orthologs, resulting in 366 alignments. Analyses of third-codon-position GC content provided conclusive evidence that the poikilothermic alligator has GC-rich isochores, like homeothermic birds and mammals. We placed these results in a theoretical framework able to unify available models of isochore evolution. The data collected for this study allowed us to reject the models that explain the evolution of GC content using changes in body temperature associated with the transition from poikilothermy to homeothermy. Falsification of these models places fundamental constraints upon the plausible pathways for the evolution of isochores. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: ) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Reviewing Editor: Dr. Nicolas Galtier     

Does use of the torpor cut-off method to analyze variation in body temperature cause more problems than it solves?

The torpor cut-off method is widely used in papers on endothermic heterothermy to describe patterns in body temperature. However, this method has several theoretical and logistical limitations, some already recognized but others not, that may hinder our understanding of heterothermy in endotherms. Here we discuss these limitations and their implications and argue that new analytical techniques should be developed and used in the study of endothermic heterothermy.     

Does food shortage delay development of homeothermy in European shag nestlings (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phalacrocorax aristotelis</Emphasis>)?

Nestlings seem to face a trade-off between reducing the basal level of energy metabolism, as an energy-saving response, and maintaining thermogenic capacity during temporal food shortage. In the present study we examined developmental responses to short-term diet restriction of 12–16 day old nestling European shags kept under laboratory conditions and tested whether temporal food shortage delay the development of homeothermy. During food shortage the European shag nestlings substantially reduced basal level of energy metabolism, resulting in significant energy savings. The reduction in basal level of energy metabolism corresponded with a reduction in peak metabolic rate. At the same time, the low peak metabolic rate of diet-restricted nestlings was offset by a lower mass-specific minimal thermal conductance, and an increased mass-specific absolute scope. Consequently, the insulation and the portion of peak metabolic rate available for regulatory thermogenesis seemed to develop normally, as expected from age, during the period of food shortage. Further, the degree of homeothermy, measured as the index of homeothermy, was not significantly lower in diet-restricted nestlings compared to controls at the same age. We conclude that temporal food shortage did not significantly delay the development of homeothermy in the European shag nestlings despite substantial reductions in basal level of energy metabolism and peak metabolic rate.Communicated by: G. Heldmaier