Chi Qing-Sheng, Sukhchuluun Gansukh, Wen Jing, Wang De-Hua, Geiser Fritz
College of Biology and Agriculture, Zunyi Normal University, Ping'an Avenue, Honghuagang District, Zunyi 563006, China.
Mammalian Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, 54b Peace Avenue, Bayanzurkh District, Ulaanbaatar 13330, Mongolia.
Curr Zool. 2024 Sep 24;71(3):381-389. doi: 10.1093/cz/zoae057. eCollection 2025 Jun.
The diversity of rodents in Asian deserts is high. Nevertheless, little is known about their use of daily torpor and hibernation, which are employed by many small mammals worldwide for energy and water conservation to permit survival under adverse environmental conditions. We quantified for the first time, using temperature transponders and data loggers, long-term torpor expression and patterns in sympatric desert hamsters , striped hamsters and 3-toed jerboas under controlled conditions. Animals were live-trapped in Inner Mongolia in August and held in captivity under short photoperiods and low ambient temperatures ( s) for about 6 months. Both hamster species (~half of individuals) expressed spontaneous (food available) daily torpor. Daily torpor in desert hamsters was less frequent and shallower than that in striped hamsters, which also had longer torpor bouts during torpor at 15.8 ± 0.4 °C. Only one individual jerboa entered hibernation spontaneously at 6.2 ± 0.5°C, but all hibernated after food deprivation. The 2 hamster species only slightly changed their body mass during the acclimation, whereas jerboas greatly increased their body mass by 27.9% during the first 2 months of acclimation probably as a preparation for the hibernating season. Our data show that short photoperiod and moderately low induces spontaneous daily torpor in the 2 hamster species, suggesting that it is used regularly in the wild. Hibernation in Jerboas occurred at 6.2 ± 0.5 °C especially when food was withheld suggesting limited food availability is the proximate trigger of their hibernation.
亚洲沙漠地区的啮齿动物种类繁多。然而，人们对它们的日常蛰伏和冬眠习性却知之甚少，而许多小型哺乳动物在全球范围内都利用这些习性来保存能量和水分，以便在恶劣的环境条件下生存。我们首次使用温度应答器和数据记录器，在可控条件下对同域分布的荒漠仓鼠、条纹仓鼠和三趾跳鼠的长期蛰伏表现和模式进行了量化。动物于8月在内蒙古进行活体诱捕，并在短光照周期和低环境温度（s）下圈养约6个月。两种仓鼠（约一半个体）都表现出自发的（有食物供应时）日常蛰伏。荒漠仓鼠的日常蛰伏频率低于条纹仓鼠，程度也更浅，而且在15.8±0.4°C的蛰伏期间，条纹仓鼠的蛰伏时间更长。只有一只跳鼠个体在6.2±0.5°C时自发进入冬眠，但所有跳鼠在食物剥夺后都进入了冬眠。在适应过程中，两种仓鼠的体重仅有轻微变化，而跳鼠在适应的前两个月体重大幅增加了27.9%，这可能是为冬眠季节做准备。我们的数据表明，短光照周期和适度低温会诱导两种仓鼠自发进行日常蛰伏，这表明它们在野外经常使用这种习性。跳鼠在6.2±0.5°C时进入冬眠，尤其是在食物短缺时，这表明食物供应有限是它们冬眠的直接触发因素。
