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Seasonal Changes In Brown Adipose Tissue And Pelage Of The Southern Short-Tailed Shrew Blarina Carolinensis, Elisa Michelle Dew
Seasonal Changes In Brown Adipose Tissue And Pelage Of The Southern Short-Tailed Shrew Blarina Carolinensis, Elisa Michelle Dew
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Winter survival mechanisms in the southern short-tailed shrew, Blarina carolinensis, were studied by examining cellular changes in interscapular brown adipose tissue (ISBAT) and pelage characteristics in specimens collected each month of the year in eastern Virginia. On capture, each specimen was anesthetized with ether and then perfused with a 2.5% glutaraldehyde-2% formaldehyde solution. ISBAT tissues were examined histologically with the transmission electron microscopy. Because BAT is know to produce heat by nonshivering thermogenesis and is more developed in winter animals than summer animals, it was hypothesized that mitochondrial area of BAT would be relatively greater in winter than in summer. …