Abstract
During hibernation, edible dormice (Glis glis) breathe intermittently. The breaths are grouped into ventilation bursts, interspaced by periods of apnea. The duration of apnea is temperature dependent and increases with decreasing ambient temperature (Ta). The duration of apnea ranges between 10 minutes at 15°C and one hour at 4°C. Gas exchange continues during apnea. During hibernation at Ta of 5°C, 33% of the total oxygen consumption (VO2) and 67% of the total carbon dioxide production (VCO2) is estimated to occur as non-ventilatory gas exchange during apnea. We assume, that the major part of apneic oxygen uptake occurs via the trachea by diffusion and not through the skin. Carbon dioxide can be released through the skin and via the trachea. Based on estimates of the oxidative cost of ventilation, we further calculate that passive gas exchange should be high enough to meet all metabolic demands during apnea in deep hibernation. All of the additional oxygen consumed during a ventilation episode appears to be required for the events associated with the ventilation episode. This raises the question, “why do dormice breathe at all during deep hibernation?”.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barnes BM (1989) Freeze avoidance in a mammal: Body temperature below 0°C in an arctic hibernator. Science 244: 1593–1594
Bianchi AL, Denavit-Saubie M, Champagnat J (1995) Central control of breathing in mammals: Neuronal circuitry, membrane properties and neurotransmitters. Am Phys Soc 75 (1): 1–45
Dejours P (1981) Principles of comparative respiratory physiology. 2nd ed. North —Holland, Amsterdam
Elvert R, Heldmaier G (2000) Telemetric observation of heart rate, ECG and body temperature in deep hibernation of edible dormice, Glis glis. Biotelemetry XV, Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Symposium on Biotelemetry, Juneau, Alaska, UJSA (in press)
Feder ME, Burggren W (1985) Cutaneous gas exchange in vertebrates: Design, patterns, control and implications. Biol Rev 60: 1–45
Feldman JL (1996) Neurophysiologie of breathing in mammals. In: Bloom FE (ed) Handbook of Physiology, Section I: The Nervous System. American Physiological Society, Bethesta: 463–524
Fitzgerald LR (1957) Cutaneous respiration in man. Phys Rev 37: 325–336
Frappell PB, Boggs DF & Kilgore DL (1998) How stiff is the armadillo? A comparison with the allometrics of mammalian respiratory mechanics. Resp Physiol 113: 111–122
Fukuchi Y, Roussos CS, Macklem PT, Engel LA (1976) Convection, diffusion and cardiogenic mixing of inspired gas in the lung: An experimental approach. Resp Physiol 26: 77–90
Garland RJ, Milsom WK (1994) End-tidal gas composition is not correlated with episodic breathing in hibernating ground squirrels. Can J Zool 72: 1141–1148
Hays GC, Webb PI, Speakman JR (1991) Arrhythmic breathing in torpid pipistrelle bats, Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Resp Physiol 85: 185–192
Heldmaier G, Steinlechner S (1981) Seasonal control of energy requirements for thermoregulation in the Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus), living in natural photoperiod. J Comp Physiol B 142: 429–437
Herreid CF, Bretz WL, Schmidt-Nielsen, K (1968) Cutaneous gas exchange in bats. Am J Physiol 215: 506–508
Inoue H, Inoue C, Hildebrandt J (1982) Temperature effects on lung mechanics in air- and liquid-filled rabbit lungs. J Appl Phys 53(3): 567–575
Kreienbühl G, Strittmatter J, Ayim E (1976) Blood gas analyses of hibernating hamsters and dormice. Pflügers Arch 366: 167–172
Kristoffersson R, Soivio A (1964) Hibernation in the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus, L.) Ann Acad Scien Fenn 82 (AIV) 1–17
Krogh A (1919) The rate of diffusion of gases through animal tissues, with some remarks on the coefficient of invasion. J Physiol 52: 391–408
Malan A (1973) Ventilation measured by body plethysmography in hibernating mammals and in poikilotherms. Resp Physiol 17: 32–44
Malan A (1982) Respiration and acid-base state in deep hibernation. In: Hibernation and torpor in mammals and birds. Eds: Lyman CP, Willis JS, Malan A, Wang LCH Academic Press, New York: 237–283
Malan A, Arens H, Waechter A (1973) Pulmonary respiration and acid-base state in hibernating marmots and hamsters. Resp Physiol 17: 45–61
McArthur MD, Milson WK (1991) Changes in ventilation and respiratory sensitivity associated with hibernation in columbian (Spermophilus columbianus) and golden mantled (Spermophilus lateralis) ground squirrels. Physiol Zool 64(4): 940–959
Milsorn WK, Reid WD (1995) Pulmonary mechanics of hibernating squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis). Resp Physiol 101: 311–320
Morris S, Curtin A, Thompson M (1994) Heterothermy, torpor, respiratory gas exchange, water balance and the effect of feeding in Gould’s long-eared bat, Nyctophilus gouldi. J Exp Biol 197: 309–335
Mortola JP, Frappell PB, Woolley PA (1999) Breathing through skin in a newborn mammal. Nature 397: 660
Musacchia XJ, Volkert WA (1971) Blood gases in hibernating and active ground squirrels: HbO2 affinity at 6°C and 38°C. Am J Physiol 221(1): 128–130
Reid WD, Ng A, Wilton RK, Milsom WK (1995) Characteristics of diaphragm muscle fibre types in hibernating squirrels. Resp Physiol 101: 301–309
Schmidt-Nielsen K (1991) Animal physiology: adaptions and enviroment. Cambridge University press, Cambridge, 4th edition
Smith JC, Ellenberger H, Ballanyi K, Feldman JL, Richter DW (1991) Pre-Bötzinger complex: a brainstem region that may generate respiratory rhythm in mammals. Science 254: 726–729
Szewczak JM, Jackson DC (1992a) Acid-base state and intermittent breathing in the torpid bat, Eptesicus fuscus. Respir. Physiol. Vol 88: 205–215
Szewczak JM, Jackson DC (1992b) Apneic oxygen uptake in the torpid bat, Eptesicus fuscus. J Exp Biol 173: 217–227
Tähti H, Soivio A (1975) Blood gas concentrations, acid-base balance and blood pressure in hedgehogs in the active state and in hibernation with periodic respiration. Ann Zool Fenn 12: 188–192
Tenney SM, Bartlett D Jr (1967) Comparative quantitative morphology of the mammalian lung: Trachea. Resp Physiol 3: 130–135
Thomas DW, Cloutier D, Gagne DC (1990) Arrhythmic breathing, apnea and non-steady-state oxygen uptake in hibernating little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). J Exp Biol 149: 395–406
West JB, Hugh-Jones P (1961) Pulsatile gas flow in bronchi caused by the heart beat. J Appl Physiol 16(4): 697–702
Wilz M (1999) Hibernation, Aestivation und täglicher Torpor beim Siebenschläfer (Glis glis, L.). Ph. D. Thesis, Marburg, Germany
Wilz M, Heldmaier G (2000) Comparison of hibernation, estivation and daily torpor in the edible dormouse, Glis glis L. Submitted to J Comp Physiol
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Wilz, M., Milsom, W.K., Heldmaier, G. (2000). Intermittent Ventilation in Hibernating Dormice — Is Ventilation always Necessary to Meet Metabolic Demands?. In: Heldmaier, G., Klingenspor, M. (eds) Life in the Cold. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04162-8_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04162-8_18
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08682-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-04162-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive