The Afrotropical pouched @entity19 Saccostomus campestris displays @entity458 in the use of daily torpor; males reluctantly enter torpor. We tested the hypothesis that males may compensate for a limited heterothermic capacity with lower basal and resting metabolic rates relative to females. We also investigated the association between gonadal activity (testosterone) and the propensity for daily torpor. Body temperature and @entity26 consumption were measured at various ambient temperatures and were compared between sexes under ad libitum and restricted-diet treatments. Whereas no significant sex differences were observed in body temperature and @entity26 consumption under ad libitum treatment, there were pronounced differences in heterothermic responses under food restriction. Females employed torpor more frequently and also had lower minimum torpor body temperatures (ca. 25 degrees C) than males (ca. 29 degrees C). @entity251 inhibited torpor in males, whereas the majority of saline-treated animals employed torpor under both ad libitum and restricted-diet treatments. This study demonstrated that the limited capacity of male S. campestris to enter torpor is a consequence of reproductive activity and that opportunistic breeding and the absence of seasonal testes regression compromises the capacity to conserve energy through daily torpor.

Reproductive activity influences thermoregulation and torpor in pouched XXXX , Saccostomus campestris.

@entity19 :: ('10090', 'Species') :: ['mouse'] @entity26 :: ('MESH:D010100', 'Chemical') :: ['oxygen'] @entity458 :: ('MESH:D020018', 'Disease') :: ['sexual disparity'] @entity251 :: ('MESH:D013739', 'Chemical') :: ['Testosterone']
@entity19 :: (10090,Species) :: ['mice']
