Effect of Winter High Temperatures on Reproduction and Circannual Rhythms in Hibernating Ground Squirrels

Abstract

We tested whether prevention of hibernation in ground squirrels by midwinter exposure to high ambient temperatures influenced timing of the spring phase of reproductive maturation and the phase and period of subsequent circannual rhythms of reproduction and body mass. Exposing hibernating adult male Spermophilus lateralis to 30°C for 6 weeks beginning December 4 advanced the timing of testicular recrudescence by 4-5 weeks, compared to controls left at 4°C. Males exposed to 30°C for 6 weeks beginning at the average time of spontaneous end of hibernation (January 15) reached reproductive maturation at a time intermediate to those of controls and of the December 4 experimental group. However, neither the date of the subsequent fall's body mass peak, the date of the next year's reproductive maturation, nor the periods of circannual rhythms of body mass and reproduction differed among groups. Premature interruption of hibernation appears to allow early expression of reproduction, but does not affect the underlying timing mechanism.