Seasonal changes in white and brown adipose tissues in Clethrionomys gapperi (red-backed vole) and in Microtus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole).
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.
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