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Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences
Seasonal Changes In Brown Fat And Pelage In Southern Short-Tailed Shrews, Elisa M. Dew, Keith A. Carson, Robert K. Rose
Seasonal Changes In Brown Fat And Pelage In Southern Short-Tailed Shrews, Elisa M. Dew, Keith A. Carson, Robert K. Rose
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
We examined cellular changes in interscapular brown adipose tissue and pelage characteristics in Blarina carolinensis collected throughout the year in eastern Virginia. Cellular volume occupied by mitochondria and maximum mitochondrial size were significantly greater in the brown adipose tissue of winter shrews than in summer shrews. Lipid droplets occupied greater volume and were larger in shrews in summer than winter shrews. There were no seasonal differences in hair density; Type I and Type II guard hairs were significantly longer in winter than summer by a factor of 1.3. Woolly hairs were 1.2 times longer in winter than summer, a non-significant …