Exposure to artificial wind increases energy intake and reproductive performance of female Swiss mice (Mus musculus) in hot temperatures.
High temperatures and heatwaves are rapidly emerging as an important threat to many aspects of physiology and behavior in females during lactation. The body's capacity to dissipate heat is reduced by high ambient temperatures, increasing the risk of hyperthermia. Exposure to wind, a pervasive environmental factor for most terrestrial animals, is known to increase heat loss, but its effects on the reproductive performance of small mammals remains unclear. In the present study, the effects of wind on the energy budgets, resting metabolic rate and milk energy output (MEO) were measured in lactating Swiss mice at 21 and 32.5°C. Females kept at 32.5°C had a significantly lower resting metabolic rate, food intake and MEO, and lighter offspring, than those kept at 21°C. However, exposure to wind increased the asymptotic food intake of females kept at 32.5°C by 22.5% (P<0.01), their MEO by 20.7% (P<0.05) and their litter mass by 17.6% (P<0.05). The body temperature of females kept at 32.5°C was significantly higher during lactation than that of females kept at 21°C, but this difference was reduced by exposure to wind. These findings suggest that exposure to wind considerably improves reproductive performance, increasing the fitness of small mammals while undergoing hot temperatures during heatwaves.
['Deng|Guang-Min|GM|', 'Yu|Jing-Xin|JX|', 'Xu|Jia-Qi|JQ|', 'Bao|Yu-Fan|YF|', 'Chen|Qian|Q|', 'Cao|Jing|J|', 'Zhao|Zhi-Jun|ZJ|0000-0001-8745-2330']
D000818:Animals D002149:Energy Intake D004734:Energy Metabolism D005260:Female D006358:Hot Temperature D007774:Lactation D008098:Litter Size D051379:Mice D011247:Pregnancy D014919:Wind
Wind Reproductive performance Swiss mice Hot temperature Lactation Energy budget Heat dissipation