Comparison of life-history traits between fat and food-storing hibernators

Projektleitung an der Vetmeduni

Giroud, Sylvain

Geldgeber

Österreichischer Austauschdienst (OeAD) GmbH

Laufzeit

01.01.2020 - 31.12.2022

Abstract

Fat-storing hibernators do not feed during the entire winter and largely rely on their body fat stores during hibernation. They stay most of the time torpid and spend little time in euthermy during their inter-bout arousals. Conversely, food-storing hibernators hardly show any significant fat accumulation prior to winter and instead feed during their long inter-bout arousals to sustain their energy requirements over winter. Also, reproductive strategies are expected to differ between fat-storing and food-storing hibernators. Food-storing hibernators emerge from hibernation in better body conditions than fat-storing animals, which have to replenish body reserves before starting reproducing. Given the contrasting hibernating behavior between these two types of species, one might expect differences in energy expenditure, body condition, oxidative balance, dynamic of telomere length and subsequent reproductive success. This project will aim at comparing the energetics and the dynamic of telomere length during winter hibernation and subsequent reproductive success between fat-storing and food-storing hibernators. We propose to perform this study on two fat-storing, i.e. the Garden dormouse and the Columbian ground squirrel, and two foodstoring hibernating species, i.e. the Common hamster and the Siberian chipmunk.