QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online December 14, 2007
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 35-41 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.012658

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Russell, G. A. Articles by Hammond, K. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Russell, G. A. Articles by Hammond, K. A. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Development partly determines the aerobic performance of adult deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus

Gregory A. Russell^1,*, Enrico L. Rezende² and Kimberly A. Hammond¹

¹ Department of Biology, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
² Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Apdo. 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: gruss001{at}student.ucr.edu)

Accepted 24 October 2007

Previous studies suggest that genetic factors and acclimation can account for differences in aerobic performance (_O2max) between high and low altitude populations of small mammals. However, it remains unclear to what extent development at different oxygen partial pressures (P_O2) can affect aerobic performance during adulthood. Here we compared the effects of development at contrasting altitudes versus effects of acclimation during adulthood on _O2max. Two groups of deer mice were born and raised for 5 weeks at one of two altitudes (340 and 3800 m above sea level). Then, a subset of each group was acclimated to the opposite altitude for 8 weeks. We measured _O2max for each individual in hypoxia (P_O2=13.5 kPa, 14% O₂ at 3800 m) and normoxia (P_O2=20.4 kPa, 21% O₂ at 340 m) to control for P_O2 effects. At 5 weeks of age, high altitude born mice attained significantly higher _O2max than low altitude born mice (37.1% higher in hypoxia and 72.1% higher in normoxia). Subsequently, deer mice acclimated for 8 weeks to high altitude had significantly higher _O2max regardless of their birth site (21.0% and 72.9% difference in hypoxia and normoxia, respectively). A significant development x acclimation site interaction comparing _O2max in hypoxia and normoxia at 13 weeks of age suggests that acclimation effects depend on development altitude. Thus, reversible plasticity during adulthood cannot fully compensate for developmental effects on aerobic performance. We also found that differences in aerobic performance in previous studies may have been underestimated if animals from contrasting altitudes were measured at different P_O2.

Key words: acclimation, aerobic performance, hypoxia, developmental canalization, phenotypic plasticity, _O2max

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JEB:

BIRTH ALTITUDE AFFECTS AEROBIC PERFORMANCE

Kathryn Phillips
JEB 2008 211: ii. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. L. Rezende, K. A. Hammond, and M. A. Chappell Cold acclimation in Peromyscus: individual variation and sex effects in maximum and daily metabolism, organ mass and body composition J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2009; 212(17): 2795 - 2802. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Phillips BIRTH ALTITUDE AFFECTS AEROBIC PERFORMANCE J. Exp. Biol., January 1, 2008; 211(1): ii - ii. [Full Text] [PDF]