scholarly journals The energetic costs of mounting an immune response in Pallas’s long-tongued bat (Glossophaga soricina)

Author(s):  
Lucia Cabrera-Martinez ◽  
L. Gerardo Herrera M. ◽  
Ariovaldo Cruz Neto

Activation of immune response has been long assumed to be an energy-costly process but direct measures of changes in metabolic rate after eliciting immune response disputes the universality of this assertion. The acute phase response (APR) is the first line of defense of the vertebrate immune system against pathogens and is thought to be energetically costly. Measures of APR energetic cost in birds are higher than in rodents suggesting that this response is less expensive and important for mammals. However, large increase in metabolic rate after APR activation measured in a piscivorous bat species (Myotis vivesi) suggests that immune response is unusually costly for bats. Here we quantified the energetic cost and body mass change associated with APR in the nectarivorous Pallas’s long-tongued bat Glossophaga soricina and compared with values previously measured for piscivorous bats and other vertebrates. APR activation implied an energy cost for G. soricina as indicated by a short-term decrease in body mass and an increase in resting metabolic rate (RMR). However, the increase in RMR was far from the large increase detected in piscivorous bats and it was similar to the highest values measured in birds. Caloric cost of APR represented only 2% of the total daily energy expenditure estimated for G. soricina. Overall our results suggest that the costs of APR for bats may vary interespecifically probably in relation to feeding habits. Measurement of the energy cost of vertebrate immune response is limited to a few species and further work is warranted to evaluate its significance for the animal´s energy budget.

Author(s):  
Lucia Cabrera-Martinez ◽  
L. Gerardo Herrera M. ◽  
Ariovaldo Cruz Neto

Activation of immune response has been long assumed to be an energy-costly process but direct measures of changes in metabolic rate after eliciting immune response disputes the universality of this assertion. The acute phase response (APR) is the first line of defense of the vertebrate immune system against pathogens and is thought to be energetically costly. Measures of APR energetic cost in birds are higher than in rodents suggesting that this response is less expensive and important for mammals. However, large increase in metabolic rate after APR activation measured in a piscivorous bat species (Myotis vivesi) suggests that immune response is unusually costly for bats. Here we quantified the energetic cost and body mass change associated with APR in the nectarivorous Pallas’s long-tongued bat Glossophaga soricina and compared with values previously measured for piscivorous bats and other vertebrates. APR activation implied an energy cost for G. soricina as indicated by a short-term decrease in body mass and an increase in resting metabolic rate (RMR). However, the increase in RMR was far from the large increase detected in piscivorous bats and it was similar to the highest values measured in birds. Caloric cost of APR represented only 2% of the total daily energy expenditure estimated for G. soricina. Overall our results suggest that the costs of APR for bats may vary interespecifically probably in relation to feeding habits. Measurement of the energy cost of vertebrate immune response is limited to a few species and further work is warranted to evaluate its significance for the animal´s energy budget.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia V. Cabrera-Martínez ◽  
L. Gerardo Herrera M. ◽  
Ariovaldo P. Cruz-Neto

The acute phase response (APR) is the first line of defense of the vertebrate immune system against pathogens. Mounting an immune response is believed to be energetically costly but direct measures of metabolic rate during immune challenges contradict this assumption. The energetic cost of APR for birds is higher than for rodents, suggesting that this response is less expensive for mammals. However, the particularly large increase in metabolic rate after APR activation for a piscivorous bat (Myotis vivesi) suggests that immune response might be unusually costly for bats. Here we quantified the energetic cost and body mass change associated with APR for the nectarivorous Pallas’s long-tongued bat (Glossophaga soricina). Activation of the APR resulted in a short-term decrease in body mass and an increase in resting metabolic rate (RMR) with a total energy cost of only 2% of the total energy expenditure estimated for G. soricina. This increase in RMR was far from the large increase measured for piscivorous bats; rather, it was similar to the highest values reported for birds. Overall, our results suggest that the costs of APR for bats may vary interspecifically. Measurement of the energy cost of vertebrate immune response is limited to a few species and further work is warranted to evaluate its significance for an animal’s energy budget.


2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 2144-2149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Facundo Luna ◽  
C Daniel Antinuchi ◽  
Cristina Busch

Ctenomys is the most speciose among subterranean rodents. There are few studies on energetics of Ctenomys, and none of them have focused on the energetics of digging. The present study aims to quantify the energetic cost of burrowing in Ctenomys talarum in natural soil conditions and to compare the energetics data with those reported for other subterranean rodents. Digging metabolic rate (DMR) in gravelly sand for C. talarum was 337.4 ± 65.9 mL O2·h–1 (mean ± SD). No differences in DMR were detected between sexes. Moreover, DMR was 295.9% of resting metabolic rate. In terms of a cost of burrowing model, the mass of soil removed per distance burrowed (Msoil) in gravelly sand was 44.5 ± 6.7 g·cm–1. Coefficients of the equation that related the energy cost of constructing a burrow segment of length S and Msoil(Eseg/Msoil) were Ks = 0.33 ± 0.32 J·g–1, which is the energy cost of shearing 1 g of soil, and Kp = 0.0055 ± 0.0042 J·g–1·cm–1, which is the energy cost of pushing 1 g of soil 100 cm. Regarding the cost of burrowing model, our data showed that C. talarum has the lowest DMR in gravelly sand among unrelated subterranean rodents analyzed. Moreover, despite C. talarum feeding aboveground, the foraging economics was similar that of to other rodents.


1988 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 301-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. C. Heglund ◽  
C. R. Taylor

In this study we investigate how speed and stride frequency change with body size. We use this information to define ‘equivalent speeds’ for animals of different size and to explore the factors underlying the six-fold difference in mass-specific energy cost of locomotion between mouse- and horse-sized animals at these speeds. Speeds and stride frequencies within a trot and a gallop were measured on a treadmill in 16 species of wild and domestic quadrupeds, ranging in body size from 30 g mice to 200 kg horses. We found that the minimum, preferred and maximum sustained speeds within a trot and a gallop all change in the same rather dramatic manner with body size, differing by nine-fold between mice and horses (i.e. all three speeds scale with about the 0.2 power of body mass). Although the absolute speeds differ greatly, the maximum sustainable speed was about 2.6-fold greater than the minimum within a trot, and 2.1-fold greater within a gallop. The frequencies used to sustain the equivalent speeds (with the exception of the minimum trotting speed) scale with about the same factor, the −0.15 power of body mass. Combining this speed and frequency data with previously published data on the energetic cost of locomotion, we find that the mass-specific energetic cost of locomotion is almost directly proportional to the stride frequency used to sustain a constant speed at all the equivalent speeds within a trot and a gallop, except for the minimum trotting speed (where it changes by a factor of two over the size range of animals studied). Thus the energy cost per kilogram per stride at five of the six equivalent speeds is about the same for all animals, independent of body size, but increases with speed: 5.0 J kg-1 stride-1 at the preferred trotting speed; 5.3 J kg-1 stride-1 at the trot-gallop transition speed; 7.5 J kg-1 stride-1 at the preferred galloping speed; and 9.4 J kg-1 stride-1 at the maximum sustained galloping speed. The cost of locomotion is determined primarily by the cost of activating muscles and of generating a unit of force for a unit of time. Our data show that both these costs increase directly with the stride frequency used at equivalent speeds by different-sized animals. The increase in cost per stride with muscles (necessitating higher muscle forces for the same ground reaction force) as stride length increases both in the trot and in the gallop.


Author(s):  
Jingjing Xue ◽  
Shuo Li ◽  
Rou Wen ◽  
Ping Hong

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the published prediction equations for determining level overground walking energy cost in young adults. Methods: In total, 148 healthy young adults volunteered to participate in this study. Resting metabolic rate and energy expenditure variables at speeds of 4, 5, and 6 km/h were measured by indirect calorimetry, walking energy expenditure was estimated by 3 published equations. Results: The gross and net metabolic rate per mile of level overground walking increased with increased speed (all P < .01). Females were less economical than males. The present findings revealed that the American College of Sports Medicine and Pandolf et al equations significantly underestimated the energy cost of overground walking at all speeds (all P < .01) in young adults. The percentage mean bias for American College of Sports Medicine, Pandolf et al, and Weyand et al was 12.4%, 16.8%, 1.4% (4 km/h); 21.6%, 15.8%, 7.1% (5 km/h); and 27.6%, 12%, 6.6% (6 km/h). Bland–Altman plots and prediction error analysis showed that the Weyand et al was the most accurate in 3 existing equations. Conclusions: The Weyand et al equation appears to be the most suitable for the prediction of overground walking energy expenditure in young adults.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (5) ◽  
pp. R771-R778 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. V. Baudinette ◽  
G. K. Snyder ◽  
P. B. Frappell

Rates of oxygen consumption and blood lactate levels were measured in tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii) trained to hop on a treadmill. In addition, the work required to overcome wind resistance during forward locomotion was measured in a wind tunnel. Up to approximately 2.0 m/s, rates of oxygen consumption increased linearly with speed and were not significantly different from rates of oxygen consumption for a quadruped of similar body mass. Between 2.0 and 9.4 m/s, rates of oxygen consumption were independent of hopping speed, and between 3.9 and 7.9 m/s, the range over which samples were obtained, blood lactate levels were low (0.83 +/- 0.13 mmol.min-1.kg-1) and did not increase with hopping speed. The work necessary to overcome drag increased exponentially with speed but increased the energy cost of locomotion by only 10% at the average speed attained by our fast hoppers. Thus, during hopping, the energy cost of locomotion is effectively independent of speed. At rates of travel observed in the field, the estimated energy cost of transport in large macropods is less than one-third the cost for a quadruped of equivalent body mass. The energetic savings associated with this unique form of locomotion may have been an important physiological adaptation, enabling large macropods to efficiently cover the distances necessary to forage in the semiarid landscapes of Australia.


1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 1474-1485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G Jensen ◽  
Peter J Pekins ◽  
James B Holter

For northern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns, the energetic cost of thermoregulation (HcE) during severe winters can result in substantial catabolism of body-tissue reserves. The heat increment of feeding (HiE) has the potential to offset thermoregulatory energy expenditure that would otherwise require the catabolism of these reserves. During winters 1996 and 1997, we conducted 18 fasting and 18 on-feed heat-production trials using indirect respiration calorimetry in a metabolic chamber. Nonlinear regression analysis was used to estimate the lower critical temperatures (Tlc) and determine the fasting metabolic rate (FMR) and resting metabolic rate (RMR). Resulting models were used to calculate HiE, HcE, and percent substitution of HiE for HcE. For fawns fed a natural browse diet, estimated FMR and RMR were 352 and 490 kJ·kg body mass (BM)-0.75·d-1, respectively; this 40% increase in thermoneutral heat production reduced Tlc from -0.8 to -11.2°C between the fasted and fed states, respectively, and reduced HcE by 59% for fed fawns. For fawns fed a concentrate diet, estimated FMR and RMR were 377 and 573 kJ·kg BM-0.75·d-1, respectively. Level of browse intake had a significant effect on RMR andTlc. RMR was 12% higher for fawns on a high versus a low level of intake, and estimated Tlc was -15.6 and -5.8°C, respectively. Our data indicate that the energetic cost of thermoregulation is probably a minor portion of the energy budget of a healthy fawn consuming natural forage.


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