Metabolism and thermoregulation in Maximowiczi's voles (Microtus maximowiczii) and Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus campbelli)

1Metabolic rates (Vo2), body temperature (Tb), and thermal conductance (C) were first determined in newly captured Maximowiczi's voles (Microtus maximowiczii) and Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus campbelli) from the Inner Mongolian grasslands at a temperature range from 5 to 35 °C.2The thermal neutral zone (TNZ) was between 25 and 32.5 °C for Maximowiczi's voles and between 25 and 30 °C for Djungarian hamsters. Mean Tb was 37.0±0.1 °C for voles and 36.2±0.1 °C for hamsters. Minimum thermal conductance was 0.172±0.004 ml O2/g h °C for voles and 0.148±0.003 ml O2/g h °C for hamsters.3The mean resting metabolic rate within TNZ was 2.21±0.05 ml O2/g h in voles and 2.01±0.07 ml O2/g h in hamsters. Nonshivering thermogenesis was 5.36±0.30 ml O2/g h for voles and 6.30±0.18 ml O2/g h for hamsters.4All these thermal physiological properties are adaptive for each species and are shaped by both macroenvironmental and microenvironmental conditions, food habits, phylogeny and other factors.