Abstract
Hibernation is characterized by reduced metabolism and body temperature during torpor bouts. Energy reserves available during winter play an important role for hibernation and some species respond to high energy reserves with reduced torpor expression. Common hamsters are food-storing hibernators and females hibernate for shorter periods than males, probably related to larger food stores. In this study, we provided free-ranging common hamsters with sunflower seeds shortly before winter and recorded body temperature using subcutaneously implanted data loggers. We compared hibernation patterns and body mass changes between individuals with and without food supplements and analysed reproductive onset in females. Supplemented males delayed hibernation onset, hibernated for much shorter periods, and emerged in spring with higher body mass than unsupplemented ones. Additional food did not affect hibernation performance in females, but supplemented females emerged earlier and preceded those without food supplements in reproductive onset. Thus, males and females differently responded to food supplementation: access to energy-rich food stores enabled males to shorten the hibernation period and emerge in better body condition, probably enhancing mating opportunities and reproductive success. Females did not alter hibernation patterns, but started to reproduce earlier than unsupplemented individuals, enabling reproductive benefits by an extended breeding period.
Highlights
Hibernating animals save energy by reducing body temperature and metabolic rate during multiday torpor bouts[1,2,3]
We previously demonstrated that hamsters were less likely to hibernate when they had access to food stores compared to individuals facing unpredictable food availability[53] and, hamsters provided with energy-rich food stores almost abandoned deep torpor under laboratory condition[54]
Body temperature patterns varied between the groups (Fig. 1) and sex-dependent effects of food supplementation were found in most of the parameters (Table 1)
Summary
Hibernating animals save energy by reducing body temperature and metabolic rate during multiday torpor bouts[1,2,3]. Hibernating individuals with high internal or external energy reserves were found to spend less time in torpor, reduced the depth of torpor, or showed longer euthermic periods[5,27,29,50,51,52] In line with these findings, common hamsters were found to adjust torpor expression in relation to the availability and quality of food stores. Information on the actual quantity and quality of individual food stores is lacking In this experiment, we provided free-ranging common hamsters with additional food of high energetic content (sunflower seeds) shortly before autumnal immergence and compared the timing of hibernation, torpor patterns, and body mass changes to that of unsupplemented individuals. We analysed the timing of reproductive onset (first conception and parturition) in the subsequent season
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