title: Thermal energetics and torpor in the common pipistrelle bat, Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Vespertilionidae: Mammalia).
abstract: Rate of metabolism and body temperature were studied between -6°C and 38°C in the common pipistrelle bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Vespertilionidae), a European species lying close to the lower end of the mammalian size range (body mass 4.9±0.8g, N=28). Individuals maintained only occasionally a normothermic body temperature averaging 35.4±1.1°C (N=4) and often showed torpor during metabolic runs. The thermoneutral zone was found above 33°C, and basal rate of metabolism averaged 7.6±0.8mL O(2)h(-1) (N=28), which is 69% of the value predicted on the basis of body mass. Minimal wet thermal conductance was 161% of the expected value. During torpor, the rate of metabolism was related exponentially to body temperature with a Q(10) value of 2.57. Torpid bats showed intermittent ventilation, with the frequency of ventilatory cycles increasing exponentially with body temperature. Basal rate of metabolism (BMR) varied significantly with season and body temperature, but not with body mass. It was lower before the hibernation period than during the summer. The patterns observed are generally consistent with those exhibited by other vespertilionids of temperate regions. However, divergences occur with previous measurements on European pipistrelles, and the causes of the seasonal variation in BMR, which has only rarely been searched for among vespertilionids, remain to be examined.
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Le Biophore, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. mgenoud@vtxnet.ch
authors: Michel
authors: M
authors: Genoud
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Christe
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D001831:Body Temperature; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption