ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Metabolic Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1651991
Physiological adaptation strategies for thermoregulation in Tupaia belangeri under high-temperature environment challenge
Provisionally accepted
Dongjie liu
Zhu Wanlong*- Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
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Introduction: To investigate the capacity of Tupaia belangeri to withstand high-temperature environments and its adaptability to global warming trends, while examining evidence for the species’ tropical origins through thermal neutral zone analysis. Methods: This study subjected T. belangeri, a representative mammal of the Oriental realm, to a temperature of 35℃ for 28 days to induce thermal acclimation. Body temperature (Tb) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) were measured at ambient temperatures (Ta) of 20℃, 25℃, 30℃, 32.5℃, 35℃, and 37.5℃, with thermal conductance (C) subsequently calculated. Latitudinal distributions and thermal neutral zone (TNZ) of 90 small mammals were compared against both normal-temperature and high-temperature acclimated T. belangeri. Results: Results indicated that Tb increased with rising ambient temperature, averaging 39.9 ± 0.16℃ within the TNZ. BMR showed no significant difference within the 30-35°C range. The mean BMR was 1.60 ± 0.025 mL O2/(g·h), indicating TNZ convergence at 30-35°C under high-temperature conditions. The mean C values within this range were 0.16 ± 0.0052 mL O2/(g·h·°C). Compared to previous data on normal-temperature acclimation from our laboratory, high-temperature acclimated animals exhibited elevated Tb, reduced BMR, a narrowed TNZ with an increased lower thermal neutral zone (LTNZ), and heightened C values. The TNZ of both acclimation groups in within the tropical high-temperature ranges. Discussion: These findings collectively indicated that T. belangeri adapts to thermal stress through increased Tb, reduced metabolic rate, enhanced heat dissipation capacity, and a shift of the TNZ towards higher temperatures. Additionally, the TNZ of T. belangeri exhibited minimal fluctuations when subjected to high-temperature stress, indicating a strong adaptive capacity to warmer environments. Furthermore, the TNZ of T. belangeri is situated within the tropical high-temperature range, providing physiological evidence of its tropical origin based on the characteristics of the TNZ.
Keywords: Tupaiidae, thermoregulation, Rest metabolic rate, Thermal neutral zone, Thermal Conductance, Tropical origin
Received: 23 Jun 2025; Accepted: 07 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 liu and Wanlong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhu Wanlong, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
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