Daily Torpor In A Pregnant Common Blossom-Bat (Syconycteris Australis: Megachiroptera)
F Geiser , G Körtner and BS Law
Australian Mammalogy
23(1) 53 - 56
Published: 2001
Abstract
TORPOR and reproduction in mammals are widely viewed as mutually exclusive processes. For most mammals, different energetic and hormonal demands appear to require a temporal sequence of torpor and reproduction within the yearly schedule. Torpor is characterised by a pronounced fall in body temperature and metabolic rate, which results in an overall reduction of energy expenditure (Geiser and Ruf 1995) and in most mammals occurs during the non-reproductive season (Goldman et al. 1986; Barnes 1996). Reproduction, on the other hand, requires an increase of energy expenditure for acquiring, processing and transfer of nutrients to the growing offspring (Hoffman 1964; Goldman et al. 1986; Thompson and Nicoll 1986; Kenagy et al. 1989; Barnes 1996).https://doi.org/10.1071/AM01053
© Australian Mammal Society 2001