title: Seasonal changes in white and brown adipose tissues in Clethrionomys gapperi (red-backed vole) and in Microtus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole).
abstract: Mass and gross composition of white and brown adipose tissues and of skeletal muscle were determined for C. gapperi and for M. pennsylvanicus from monthly samples of a 1-year period. Amounts of brown fat increased throughout autumn to a maximum in late winter and then declined to a minimum in the spring. Gross composition remained relatively constant throughout the year. Changes in white fat showed a trend similar to changes in brown fat. Relatively low mean values for muscle mass during summer were due to a change in the age structure of the vole population.
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009929:Organ Size; D012621:Seasons; D013045:Species Specificity