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Improved homeothermy and hypothermia in African lions during gestation.

ABSTRACT: Mammals use endogenously produced heat to maintain a high and relatively constant core body temperature (Tb). How they regulate their Tb during reproduction might inform us as to what thermal conditions are necessary for optimal development of offspring. However, few studies have measured Tb in free-ranging animals for sufficient periods of time to encounter reproductive events. We measured Tb continuously in six free-ranging adult female African lions (Panthera leo) for approximately 1 year. Lions reduced the 24 h amplitude of Tb by about 25% during gestation and decreased mean 24 h Tb by 1.3 ± 0.1°C over the course of the gestation, reducing incidences of hyperthermia (Tb > 39.5°C). The observation of improved homeothermy during reproduction may support the parental care model (PCM) for the evolution of endothermy, which postulates that endothermy arose in birds and mammals as a consequence of more general selection for parental care. According to the PCM, endothermy arose because it enabled parents to better control incubation temperature, leading to rapid growth and development of offspring and thus to fitness benefits for the parents. Whether the precision of Tb regulation in pregnant lions, and consequently their reproductive success, will be influenced by changing environmental conditions, particularly hotter and drier periods associated with climate change, remains to be determined.

SUBMITTER: Trethowan PD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5134044 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Improved homeothermy and hypothermia in African lions during gestation.

Trethowan Paul D PD Hart Tom T Loveridge Andrew J AJ Haw Anna A Fuller Andrea A Macdonald David W DW

Biology letters 20161101 11

Mammals use endogenously produced heat to maintain a high and relatively constant core body temperature (Tb). How they regulate their Tb during reproduction might inform us as to what thermal conditions are necessary for optimal development of offspring. However, few studies have measured Tb in free-ranging animals for sufficient periods of time to encounter reproductive events. We measured Tb continuously in six free-ranging adult female African lions ...[more]

PMID: 27881765

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Project description:BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the impacts of guar gum and cellulose as the source of dietary fiber during gestation on the reproductive performance of sows.MethodsA total of 210 sows (parities 3-6) were randomly allocated into six diets (n = 35) throughout gestation to feed graded levels of dietary fiber (DF), including a corn-soybean meal-based control diet with no wheat bran inclusion (CON, 12.5% DF), a wheat bran-rich diet (DF1, 17.4% DF), and another 4 diets (DF2, 17.7% DF; DF3, 18.1% DF; DF4, 18.4% DF; DF5, 18.8% DF) in which wheat bran were equally substituted by 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% purified FIBER MIX (guar gum and cellulose, 1:4). All sows received similar DE and other nutrients throughout gestation.ResultsDF treatment during gestation resulted in normal fecal score (1 to 5 with 1 = dry and 5 = watery) in sows compared with those received the CON diet (P < 0.05). The number of total born piglets had a tendency to be affected by dietary treatment (P = 0.07), and correlation analysis revealed a linear response of total born to dietary fiber levels during gestation (P < 0.01). Sows received the DF2, DF3, and DF5 diets during gestation had a greater ADFI during lactation compared with those in the CON group (P < 0.05) without affecting the daily body weight gain of suckling piglets. Gut microbiota compositions were dramatically changed by the gestation stage and some of those were changed by DF inclusion. Fecal acetate, propionate, and butyrate of sows were markedly increased in late gestation, and butyrate contents in feces of gestating sows were significantly affected by DF levels (P < 0.01). Serum concentrations of pro-inflammatory TNF-α were decreased and anti-inflammatory IL-10 was increased on day 30 of gestation by DF levels (P < 0.05).ConclusionsIn summary, increasing dietary fiber levels by guar gum and cellulose during gestation improved the reproductive performance of sows, which might be related to changes in immunity and gut microbiota of sows.

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Improved homeothermy and hypothermia in African lions during gestation.

Publications

Improved homeothermy and hypothermia in African lions during gestation.

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