Adaptive physiological variation in nonshivering thermogenesis and its significance in speciation (original) (raw)

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Summary

Nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) magnitude was studied in the four chromosomal species of subterranean mole rats of the_Spalax ehrenbergi_ superspecies in Israel. The four species show a distribution pattern which correlates with increasing aridity. The 2_n_=52 species inhabits the cold and humid regions, 2_n_=54 cold and dry, 2_n_-58 warm and humid, and 2_n_=60 the more arid regions in which temperatures fluctuate daily and annually. NST was measured as the ratio between maximal oxygen\(\dot V_{{\text{o}}_{\text{2}} }\) due to noradrenaline injection and minimal\(\dot V_{{\text{o}}_{\text{2}} }\) measured in anaesthetized animals.

The chromosomal species 2_n_=60 from semiarid and arid habitats has the highest NST value. This fact emerges from the low Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) of this species relative to all the other three species. A linear correlation was found between NST magnitude and the average daily range of temperature during June and September.

We conclude that speciation of the_S. ehrenbergi_ complex in Israel has thermoregulatory correlates such as heat production by NST, among others. The level of NST appears to be an adaptive physiological characteristic in the ecological speciation of subterranean mole rats.

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Author notes

  1. G. Heth & E. Nevo
    Present address: Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education of the Kibbutz Movement Oranim, University of Haifa, P.O., 36910, Kiryat Tivon, Israel
    A. Haim, G. Heth, Z. Avnon & E. Nevo

Authors

  1. A. Haim
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  2. G. Heth
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  3. Z. Avnon
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  4. E. Nevo
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Haim, A., Heth, G., Avnon, Z. et al. Adaptive physiological variation in nonshivering thermogenesis and its significance in speciation.J Comp Physiol B 154, 145–147 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00684138

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