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USGS · 1015317

Variation in torpor patterns of free-ranging black-tailed and Utah prairie dogs across gradients of elevation

E.M. Lehmer·E. Biggins
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Abstract

We compared over-winter body temperature (T b ) patterns for more than 6 months in adult (> 1 year) black-tailed ( Cynomys ludovicianus ) and Utah ( C. parvidens ) prairie dogs from colonies located along gradients of elevation in northern Colorado and southern Utah. In general, black-tailed prairie dogs entered torpor facultatively during winter, whereas Utah prairie dogs hibernated continuously for extended periods. Both black-tailed and Utah prairie dogs displayed significant differences in T b patterns across elevations, with lower elevation populations entering more shallow and infrequent torpor than prairie dogs at higher elevations. T b patterns of black-tailed prairie dogs followed 24-h cycles, as most prairie dogs entered into and aroused from torpor between 1100 and 1700 h and bout lengths were clustered around 24-h intervals and multiples thereof. Torpor in Utah prairie dogs did not display the same daily patterns; they entered into and aroused from torpor at all times of the day, and bout lengths were variable. Although black-tailed and Utah prairie dogs are closely related, mechanisms that stimulate and control torpor might differ between them.

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E.M. Lehmer, E. Biggins. 2005. Variation in torpor patterns of free-ranging black-tailed and Utah prairie dogs across gradients of elevation. https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2005)086%3C0015%3Avitpof%3E2.0.co%3B2

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