The Study
Research into the effects of climate change on mammals has been receiving growing attention in light of recent increases in extreme weather events and steady increases in mean global ambient temperatures. As a result there is now a great interest in predicting the effects of future changes in climate on animal populations. As such, there is a need to understand the dynamics between ambient temperatures and body temperatures, and how these affect the energy budget of free-ranging animals. In mammals, these interactions have primarily been studied in animals from higher latitudes and from temperate climates. Due to the basic differences in thermoregulatory physiology, and especially in the responses to high ambient temperatures, the results of these previous studies are not directly transferable to animals in the tropics.
A number of study sites in Samarahan and Kuching Division will provide us with the ideal thermal environment to test these ideas. The primary aim of this study will be to use an integrative field-laboratory approach, combining free-ranging body temperature data with thermal profiles (the interaction between resting metabolic rates and ambient temperature measured overnight at the field site) and activity patterns to fully characterise the thermoregulation in tropical mammals and use the results to explore the dynamics of maintaining high body temperatures at high ambient temperatures. The current target species are tarsiers (Primates) and tree shrews (Scandentia) which were chosen not only for their variety in activity patterns (tarsiers are nocturnal while tree shrews are diurnal) but because their positions within the mammalian phylogeny will allow the investigators to make inferences into the evolution of thermoregulatory patterns in mammals.
For more details on other research at the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation check out the website www.ibec.unimas.my.
A number of study sites in Samarahan and Kuching Division will provide us with the ideal thermal environment to test these ideas. The primary aim of this study will be to use an integrative field-laboratory approach, combining free-ranging body temperature data with thermal profiles (the interaction between resting metabolic rates and ambient temperature measured overnight at the field site) and activity patterns to fully characterise the thermoregulation in tropical mammals and use the results to explore the dynamics of maintaining high body temperatures at high ambient temperatures. The current target species are tarsiers (Primates) and tree shrews (Scandentia) which were chosen not only for their variety in activity patterns (tarsiers are nocturnal while tree shrews are diurnal) but because their positions within the mammalian phylogeny will allow the investigators to make inferences into the evolution of thermoregulatory patterns in mammals.
For more details on other research at the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation check out the website www.ibec.unimas.my.
Researchers
Prof Dr Andrew Alek Tuen
Principal Research Fellow IBEC (UNIMAS)
Thermal physiology of tarsiers and treeshrews
Principal Research Fellow IBEC (UNIMAS)
Thermal physiology of tarsiers and treeshrews
Dr Danielle Levesque
Assistant Professor (UMaine)
Research Associate (IBEC UNIMAS)
Thermal physiology and energetics of free-ranging tree-shrews (Tupaia sp, Order: Scandentia)
Assistant Professor (UMaine)
Research Associate (IBEC UNIMAS)
Thermal physiology and energetics of free-ranging tree-shrews (Tupaia sp, Order: Scandentia)
Dr Shaun Welman
Lecturer, Nelson Mandela University
Characterization of thermoregulation and physiological capabilities of a basal primate species in a changing climate
Lecturer, Nelson Mandela University
Characterization of thermoregulation and physiological capabilities of a basal primate species in a changing climate