Haim A
School of Education of the Kibbutz Movement, University of Haifa-Oranim, P.O., 36910, Kiryat Tivon, Israel.
Oecologia. 1984 Jan;61(1):49-52. doi: 10.1007/BF00379087.
Species of the genus Gerbillus are very common among the rodent fauna inhabiting arid zones and dune habitats in the palaearctic region. In Israel G. nanus is distributed in extreme arid areas, while G. allenbyi is common in coastal plain dune habitats, of mesic and semi-arid areas. Therefore, their distribution pattern is considered allopatric.Heat production, estimated by the oxygen consumption (Vo2), and body temperature (T ) at various ambient temperatures were measured in both gerbils. The thermoneutral zone for G. allenbyi is between T =28-35° C ([Formula: see text] T =36.3-38.3° C) and for G. nanus is at T =33±1° C ([Formula: see text], T =38.8° C). The [Formula: see text] values at thermoneutrality are 75.7% and 50.6% respectively of the calculated values for rodents with a mean body weight of 35.3 g and 28.4 g.Nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) was measured in both species as the maximal response to an injection of noradrenaline (2.0 mg/Kg s.c.). NST magnitude was the same for both species.The results show that both gerbils are adapted to arid environments. The difference in the thermoneutral zones of the two species is discussed in terms of its adaptive nature.
沙鼠属的物种在古北区干旱地区和沙丘栖息地的啮齿动物区系中非常常见。在以色列，纳米布沙鼠分布在极端干旱地区，而艾伦比沙鼠常见于中湿和半干旱地区的沿海平原沙丘栖息地。因此，它们的分布模式被认为是异域分布。通过测量两种沙鼠在不同环境温度下的耗氧量（Vo2）和体温（T）来估算产热。艾伦比沙鼠的热中性区在T = 28 - 35°C（[公式：见正文] T = 36.3 - 38.3°C）之间，纳米布沙鼠的热中性区在T = 33±1°C（[公式：见正文]，T = 38.8°C）。在热中性状态下，[公式：见正文]值分别为平均体重35.3克和28.4克的啮齿动物计算值的75.7%和50.6%。通过注射去甲肾上腺素（2.0毫克/千克皮下注射）后的最大反应来测量两种沙鼠的非颤抖性产热（NST）。两种沙鼠的NST幅度相同。结果表明，两种沙鼠都适应干旱环境。从适应性角度讨论了两种沙鼠热中性区的差异。
