PMID: 11916113Mar 28, 2002Paper

Postnatal development and thermoregulation in the precocial European hare (Lepus europaeus)

Journal of Comparative Physiology. B, Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology
Klaus HackländerT Ruf

Abstract

We investigated postnatal development of captive juvenile European hares (Lepus europaeus) with respect to growth, food intake and thermoregulation. Leverets increased their body weight on average 8.5-fold within 35 days, with a peak in relative growth rate on day 8. Although leverets started to take up solid food in the 2nd week of lactation, milk was the main energy source. Leverets of larger litters (two or three young) had less energy supply via milk than those of smaller litters (one young), and digested more energy in form of solid food. Weaning weight was positively correlated with body weight at birth and decreased with increasing litter size. Metabolic rates were largely determined by ambient temperature (Ta) and the increasing body weights. Leverets were able to maintain normothermic body temperatures from the Ist day of life during cold exposure down to Ta -8 degrees C. In their 1st week of life leverets showed reduced rates of heat loss in the cold, possibly by using peripheral vasoconstriction. Our results suggest that the precocial development of leverets is characterised by high maintenance costs due to rapid growth and thermoregulation, which may lead to negative energy balances when food supply is inadequate an...Continue Reading

Citations

Jun 18, 2009·Journal of Comparative Physiology. B, Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology·Teresa G Valencak, Thomas Ruf
May 1, 2010·Animal : an International Journal of Animal Bioscience·V TufarelliV Laudadio
Dec 30, 2008·The Journal of Experimental Biology·T G ValencakT Ruf
Apr 21, 2009·Physiology & Behavior·Heiko G Rödel, Dietrich von Holst
Jul 16, 2008·Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B, Molecular and Developmental Evolution·Kirsten Szdzuy, Ulrich Zeller
Jul 31, 2013·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Amy L SkibielWendy R Hood
Oct 31, 2009·Developmental Psychobiology·Amando BautistaHeiko G Rödel
Aug 1, 2015·PloS One·Stéphanie C Schai-BraunKlaus Hackländer
Jul 29, 2017·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Michel GenoudRobert D Martin
Oct 11, 2017·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Cory T WilliamsThomas Ruf
Jan 14, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Mathieu G Faure-Brac, Jorge Cubo

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