Physiological responses to hypoxia are constrained by environmental temperature in heterothermic tenrecs

Author:

Devereaux Maiah E. M.1,Silva Rubio Claudia2,van Breukelen Frank2ORCID,Pamenter Matthew E.13ORCID

Affiliation:

1. University of Ottawa 1 Department of Biology , , Ottawa, ON , Canada, K1N 9A7

2. School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada 2 , Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154 , USA

3. University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute 3 , Ottawa, ON , Canada, K1H 8M5

Abstract

ABSTRACTMalagasy tenrecs are placental hibernating mammals that seal the entrances to their burrows and hibernate either singly or in groups for 8–9 months, which is likely to create a hypoxic and hypercapnic burrow environment. Therefore, we hypothesized that tenrecs are tolerant to environmental hypoxia and hypercapnia. Many hypoxia- and hypercapnia-tolerant fossorial mammals respond to hypoxia by decreasing metabolic rate and thermogenesis, and have blunted ventilatory responses to both environmental hypoxia and hypercapnia. However, tenrecs exhibit extreme metabolic and thermoregulatory plasticity, which exceeds that of most heterothermic mammals and approaches that of ectothermic reptiles. Thus, we predicted that tenrecs would have abnormal physiological responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia relative to other fossorial mammals. To test this, we exposed common tenrecs (Tenrec ecaudatus) to moderate and severe hypoxia (9 and 4% O2) or hypercapnia (5 and 10% CO2) in either 28 or 16°C while non-invasively measuring metabolic rate, thermogenesis and ventilation. We found that tenrecs exhibit robust metabolic decreases in both hypoxia and hypercapnia. Furthermore, tenrecs have blunted ventilatory responses to both hypoxia and hypercapnia, and these responses are highly temperature sensitive such that they are reduced or absent in 16°C. Thermoregulation was highly variable in 16°C but constrained in 28°C across all treatment conditions and was not impacted by hypoxia or hypercapnia, unlike in other heterothermic mammals. Taken together, our results indicate that physiological responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia in tenrecs are highly dependent on environmental temperature and differ from those of other mammalian heterotherms.

Funder

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Canada Research Chair

National Science Foundation

Publisher

The Company of Biologists

Subject

Insect Science,Molecular Biology,Animal Science and Zoology,Aquatic Science,Physiology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Cited by 2 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Tenrecs deal with poor air quality like reptiles;Journal of Experimental Biology;2023-03-15

2. ECR Spotlight – Claudia Silva Rubio;Journal of Experimental Biology;2023-03-15

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