Metabolic acclimatization of bank voles to laboratory conditions

The metabolism (oxygen consumption) was compared in the bank voles, (S c h r e b e r, 1780) reared in the laboratory _ for several generations ("laboratory") and in voles captured in the field ("wild").The general shape of temperature -metabolism curves in the range of +5 to +35°C was similar in laboratory and wild voles and their thermoneutral zone was around 30°C.The metabolism of laboratory voles was usually higher than in wild voles but the difference was statistically significant only in the temperatures 15 and 20°C during the winter and 10 and 20°C during the summer.In laboratory temperatures (15-25°C) the heat production was markedly lower in the laboratory voles, both in the winter and in the summer.The body insulation index in wild voles undergoes drastic seasonal changes, while in the laboratory voles it is quite similar in the winter and in the summer.Consequently, the models of wild rodents bioenergetics can not be based on the laboratory strains of these species.