Ecophysiology of Small Desert Mammals

1 Introduction.- 1.1 Ecophysiology.- 1.2 Small.- 1.3 Desert.- 1.4 Mammal.- 1.5 Small Desert Mammals.- 2 Deserts.- 2.1 Definition of Deserts.- 2.2 Formation of Deserts.- 2.3 World Deserts.- 2.4 Desert Soils.- 3 Body Size and Allometry.- 3.1 Allometric Scaling.- 3.1.1 Correlation Coefficient and Standard Error of Estimate in Allometric Relationships.- 3.1.2 Interspecific and Intraspecific Allometric Relationships.- 3.2 Body Size and Environment.- 3.2.1 Bergmann’s Rule and Body Size of Animals.- 3.2.2 Allen’s Rule and Thermoregulatory Effective Surfaces.- 3.2.3 Dehnel Phenomenon and Seasonal Body Mass Changes.- 3.2.4 Body Mass Changes in Free-Living Small Mammals.- 3.2.5 Fasting Endurance and Body Size.- 4 Heat Transfer and Body Temperature.- 4.1 Heat Exchange Between Animal and Environment.- 4.1.1 Radiation.- 4.1.2 Convection.- 4.1.3 Conduction.- 4.2 Operative and Standard Operative Environmental Temperatures.- 4.3 Body Temperature of Mammals.- 4.3.1 Torpor.- 4.4 Overall Thermal Conductance.- 4.4.1 Pelage and Seasonal Changes in Thermal Conductance.- 4.4.2 Thermal Exchange and Effective Surface Area.- 4.5 Shivering and Non-Shivering Thermogenesis.- 5 Behavioural Adaptations.- 5.1 Temporal Patterns.- 5.1.1 Small Nocturnal Mammals.- 5.1.2 Small Diurnal Mammals.- 5.1.3 Shuttling.- 5.1.4 Nocturnal vs Diurnal Activity for Small Desert Mammals.- 5.2 Refuge Microhabitat.- 5.2.1 Burrows.- 5.2.2 Rock Crevices.- 5.2.3 Nests.- 5.2.4 Geothermally Heated Mines.- 5.3 Dietary Habits.- 5.3.1 Granivory.- 5.3.2 Herbivory.- 5.3.3 Insectivory and Carnivory.- 5.3.4 Omnivory.- 5.3.5 Dietary Preference and Selection Indices.- 5.4 Locomotion.- 6 Water Requirements and Water Balance.- 6.1 Water Input.- 6.1.1 Water for Granivores.- 6.1.2 Water for Non-Granivores.- 6.2 Water Output.- 6.2.1 Evaporative Water Loss.- 6.2.2 Salivary Water Loss.- 6.2.3 Kidney Function and Electrolyte Excretion.- 6.2.4 Nitrogen Excretion.- 6.2.5 Unorthodox Method of Eliminating Electrolytes.- 6.2.6 Hormonal Control of Urine Concentration.- 6.2.7 Faecal Water Loss.- 6.3 Total Body Water Volume and Its Distribution..- 6.4 Body Fluid Regulation.- 6.4.1 Colloid Osmotic Pressure.- 6.5 Cardiac Output and Its Distribution During Dehydration.- 6.6 Water Flux.- 6.6.1 Water Flux of Free-Living Mammals.- 7 Energy Requirements and Energy Flux.- 7.1 Digestibility and Energy Value of Food.- 7.1.1 Digestibility of Seeds.- 7.1.2 Digestibility of Vegetation.- 7.2 Anti-Nutritional Compounds.- 7.2.1 Bezoars and the Ibex.- 7.3 Digestive Tract and Absorption of Nutrients.- 7.4 Basal Metabolic Rate.- 7.4.1 Comparison of BMR Among Mammals.- 7.4.2 Seasonal Changes in BMR.- 7.4.3 Maximum Metabolic Rate.- 7.5 Average Daily Metabolic Rate.- 7.5.1 Linear Regression to Estimate ADMR.- 7.5.2 Total Daily Heat Production to Estimate ADMR.- 7.5.3 Energy Balance and Body Mass Change to Estimate ADMR.- 7.5.4 Comparison in ADMR Among Small Mammals.- 7.6 Field Metabolic Rate.- 7.6.1 BMR, ADMR and FMR.- 7.6.2 Doubly Labelled Water Method.- 7.6.3 Calculation of Daily Energy Expenditure, Metabolizable Energy Intake and Energy Retention in Animals Not in Energy Balance.- 7.6.4 Comparison of Field Metabolic Rates Among Mammals.- 7.6.5 Seasonal Field Metabolic Rates.- 7.6.6 Water Influx to FMR Ratio.- 8 Reproduction.- 8.1 Timing of Reproduction.- 8.2 Water Intake, Milk Production and Pup Growth.- 8.3 Water Budget During Pregnancy and Lactation.- 8.3.1 Recycling of Water During Lactation.- 8.4 Energy Requirements for Pregnancy and Lactation.- 8.4.1 Energy Partition in Lactating Female.- 8.5 Reproduction, Metabolic Rate and Body Size.- References.