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Effects of Isolation of Laboratory Mice (Mus Musculus) at Room Temperature on their Subsequent Resistance to Low Temperatures
Author(s) -
Prychodko W.
Publication year - 1964
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1933857
Subject(s) - isolation (microbiology) , resistance (ecology) , house mice , zoology , ecology , biology , house mouse , microbiology and biotechnology
The effect of isolation at 25°C for 2 weeks on subsequent resistance to low temperature has been studied in DBA/2Sp, MA f /Sp, and MA/MySp mice. Results show that in all cases the survival of these animals at 4° and —3°C increases markedly, as compared with corresponding controls which were kept 10 to 16 to a cage before being exposed to low temperature. Young males, averaging 8.6 weeks old, showed lower resistance to 4°C than females of the same age. The resistance of males improves when they are 18 weeks old. Cold resistance of the isolated mice, which were provided with nesting material, was somewhat lower than the resistance of comparable isolated animals without shelter. The survival of both groups at 4°C was higher than in the controls, which were kept in groups before being exposed to low temperature. It is concluded that during the isolation at room temperature the animals developed greater capacity for heat production which enabled them to compensate for the increased heat loss at low ambient temperatures.