Abstract
The nocturnal rock-dwelling gerbil (Gerbillus dasyurus) is widely distributed in the steppe deserts of the Arabian peninsula. The O2 consumption V ̇O2 of this species in the thermoneutral zone is only 64% of the V ̇O2 of a 27.6 g mammal as predicted Brody (1945). The intake of digestible dry matter is relatively low correlating with the V ̇O2 values. The thermal conductance value for G. dasyurus is similar to that predicted for a rodent with a body of 28 g (Bradley and Deavers, 1980), but lower than that measured for other rodents occurring in arid habitats (Haim, 1984). Low heat conductance compared to desert rodents and increased V ̇O2 when exposed to cold appear to be important adaptations of G. dasyurus in cold mesic environments.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 45-48 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Thermal Biology |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1987 |
Keywords
- Gerbillus dasyurus
- Oxygen consumption
- and environments
- thermal conductance
- thermoregulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physiology
- Biochemistry
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- Developmental Biology