Effects of changing ambient temperature on metabolic, heart, and ventilation rates during steady state hibernation in golden-mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis).

Abstract

To determine whether metabolic rate is suppressed in a temperature-independent fashion in the golden-mantled ground squirrel during steady state hibernation, we measured body temperature and metabolic rate in ground squirrels during hibernation at different T(a)'s. In addition, we attempted to determine whether heart rate, ventilation rate, and breathing patterns changed as a function of body temperature or metabolic rate. We found that metabolic rate changed with T(a) as it was raised from 5 degrees to 14 degrees C, which supports the theory that different species sustain falls in metabolic rate during hibernation in different ways. Heart rate and breathing pattern also changed with changing T(a), while breathing frequency did not. That the total breathing frequency did not correlate closely with oxygen consumption or body temperature, while the breathing pattern did, raises important questions regarding the mechanisms controlling ventilation during hibernation.