Comparative study on adaptive thermogenic capacity during high-temperature acclimation of three sympatric rodents

In order to explore how the sympatric species of Eothenomys olitor,Apodemus chevrieri,Eothenomys miletus will adjust their thermogenic capacity to adapt to the environment under the background of global warming,as well as which species has stronger high-temperature adaptation ability.Body mass,liver and brown adipose tissue(BAT)mass and their protein contents under high-temperature conditions(30±1°C,acclimation for 28 days)were measured in the present study.The results showed that all three kinds of animals in the warm acclimation group increased body mass and reduced thermogenic capacity,in which the indicators of thermogenesis for E.olitor had the smallest change range,and there were significant differences in body mass and thermogenic capacity among the three species.All of the above results suggested that the three sympatric rodents chosen to increase their body mass,reduced thermogenesis and energy consumption to adapt to the environment under high temperature conditions,which showed a phenomenon of convergent adaptation.Moreover,the change amplitude of the E.olitor was the smallest,indicating that high temperature has the least impact on its survival,indicating that E.olitor may had stronger adaptability under the conditions of global warming.

The effects of seed detectability and seed traits on hoarding preference of two rodent species

Seed traits play an important role in affecting seed preference and hoarding behaviors of small rodents.Despite greatly affected by seed traits,seed detectability of competitors represents pilfering risks and may also modify seed hoarding preference of animals.However,whether seed traits and seed detectability show consistent effects on seed hoarding preference of animals remain largely unknown.Here,we explored how seed traits and seed detectability correlate with seed hoarding preference of Leopoldamys edwardsi and Apodemus chevrieri in a subtropical forest.Despite the effects of seed coat thickness and caloric value on hoarding preference of L.edwardsi,we detected no significant effects of other seed traits on hording preference of the 2 rodent species.There was no correlation between larder-hoarding preference and inter-or intra-specific seed detectability of L.edwardsi;however,seed detectability of L.edwardsi was negatively correlated with its own scatter-hoarding preference.Although scatter-hoarding preference of A.chevrieri was not correlated with inter-and intra-specific seed detectability,larder-hoarding preference of A.chevrieri was positively correlated with intra-specific seed detectability.Our study may provide evidence that intra-specific seed detectability rather than seed traits and inter-specific pilfering risks play an important role in modifying seed hoarding preference of rodents.