The importance of mammalian torpor for survival in a post-fire landscape

Clare Stawski; Gerhard Körtner; Julia Nowack; Fritz Geiser

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0134

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The importance of mammalian torpor for survival in a post-fire landscape

Journal article

Peer reviewed

The importance of mammalian torpor for survival in a post-fire landscape

Clare Stawski, Gerhard Körtner, Julia Nowack and Fritz Geiser

Biology Letters, Vol.11(6), pp.1-5

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0134

PMCID: PMC4528463

PMID: 26063748

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Abstract

Animals

Climate Change

Female

Fires

Longevity

Marsupialia - physiology

New South Wales

Torpor

Wildfires have increased in frequency and intensity worldwide with climate change as a main driving factor. While a number of studies have focused on population changes in regard to fires, there are essentially no quantitative data on behavioural and physiological adjustments that are vital for the persistence of individuals during and after fires. Here we show that brown antechinus, a small insectivorous marsupial mammal, (i) endured a prescribed fire in situ, (ii) remained in their scorched home range despite unburned areas nearby, and (iii) substantially increased post-fire torpor use and thus reduced foraging requirements and exposure to predators. Hence, torpor is a physiological adaptation that, although not quantified in this context previously, appears to play a key role in post-fire survival for this and other heterothermic species.

Details

Title: The importance of mammalian torpor for survival in a post-fire landscape
Authors: Clare Stawski (Corresponding Author) - University of New England
Gerhard Körtner (Author) - University of New England
Julia Nowack (Author) - University of New England
Fritz Geiser (Author) - University of New England
Publication details: Biology Letters, Vol.11(6), pp.1-5
Publisher: The Royal Society Publishing
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0134
ISSN: 1744-957X
PMID: 26063748; PMC4528463
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99678998402621
Output Type: Journal article

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