The functional significance of ventilation frequency, and its relationship to oxygen demand in the resting brown long-eared bat, Plecotus auritus

Mean oxygen consumption and simultaneous ventilation frequency of nine non-reproductive brown long-eared bats (body mass 8.53–13.33 g) were measured on 159 occasions. Ambient (chamber) temperature at which the measurements were made ranged from 10.8 to 41.1°C. Apneic ventilation occurred in 22 of the 59 measurements made when mean oxygen consumption was less than 0.5 ml·min-1. No records of apneic ventilation were obtained when it was over 0.5 ml·min-1. The relationship between ventilation frequency and mean oxygen consumption depended on whether ventilation was apneic or non-apneic. When ventilation was non-apneic the relationship was positive and log-linear. When ventilation was apneic the relationship was log-log. Within the thermoneutral zone ventilation frequency was not significantly different from that predicted from allometric equations for a terrestrial mammal of equivalent body mass, but was significantly greater than that predicted for a bird. A reduction in the amount of oxygen consumed per breath occurred at ambient temperatures above the upper critical temperature (39°C).