Nieminen Petteri, Mustonen Anne-Mari
University of Joensuu, Faculty of Biosciences, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland.
Cryobiology. 2008 Apr;56(2):163-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2008.01.004. Epub 2008 Feb 6.
The mountain hare (Lepus timidus) is a year-round active herbivore adapted to survive the boreal winter. Captive mountain hares (N=4) were implanted with intraabdominal thermosensitive loggers to record their core body temperature (T(b)) for a year and during food deprivation (8-48h) in summer and winter. The average T(b) was 38.7+/-0.01 degrees C in summer and 38.3+/-0.01 degrees C in winter. The yearly T(b) correlated positively with the ambient temperature. The 24-h T(b) was the highest from late scotophase to early photophase in summer and winter and the lowest during middle-late photophase in summer or during early-middle scotophase in winter. The range of the 24-h oscillations in T(b) increased in three animals in winter. Food deprivation did not induce hypothermia in summer or winter. These preliminary data suggest that the mountain hare can spare a modest amount of energy with the wintertime reduction in T(b).
山兔（Lepus timidus）是一种全年活跃的食草动物，适应在北方冬季生存。将圈养的山兔（N = 4）植入腹腔内热敏记录器，以记录它们的核心体温（T(b)），为期一年，并记录夏季和冬季食物剥夺（8 - 48小时）期间的体温。夏季平均T(b)为38.7±0.01℃，冬季为38.3±0.01℃。年T(b)与环境温度呈正相关。夏季和冬季，24小时T(b)在暗光期晚期至光期早期最高，在夏季光期中期至晚期或冬季暗光期早期至中期最低。冬季有三只动物的T(b) 24小时振荡范围增加。食物剥夺在夏季或冬季均未诱发体温过低。这些初步数据表明，山兔可以通过冬季T(b)的降低节省一定量的能量。
