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Context-dependent correlation between resting metabolic rate and daily energy expenditure in wild chipmunks

journal contribution
posted on 2013-02-01, 00:00 authored by Vincent Careau, D Reale, D Garant, F Pelletier, J Speakman, M Humphries
Several empirical studies have shown that variation in daily energy expenditure (DEE) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) is influenced by environmental and individual factors, but whether these shared influences are responsible for, or independent of, relationships between DEE and RMR remains unknown. The objectives of this study were to (i) simultaneously evaluate the effects of environmental and individual variables on DEE and RMR in free-ranging eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) and (ii) quantify the correlation between DEE and RMR before and after controlling for common sources of variation. We found that the influence of individual factors on DEE and RMR is most often shared, whereas the influence of environmental factors tends to be distinct. Both raw and mass-adjusted DEE and RMR were significantly correlated, but this correlation vanished after accounting for the shared effect of reproduction on both traits. However, within reproductive individuals, DEE and RMR remained positively correlated after accounting for all other significant covariates. The ratio of DEE to RMR was significantly higher during reproduction than at other times of the year and was negatively correlated with ambient temperature. DEE and RMR appear to be inherently correlated during reproduction, but this correlation does not persist during other, less energy-demanding periods of the annual cycle.

History

Journal

Journal of experimental biology

Volume

216

Pagination

418 - 426

Publisher

Company of Biologists

Location

Cambridge, England

ISSN

0022-0949

eISSN

1477-9145

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2013, Company of Biologists

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