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Cited by 39Physiological and biochemical adaptationsWildlife Ecology and ConservationEffects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock

Drought-induced starvation of aardvarks in the Kalahari: an indirect effect of climate change

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Rey, Benjamin, Fuller, Andrea, Mitchell, Duncan, Meyer, Leith C. R., Hetem, Robyn S.·2017·Biology Letters
DOI 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0301PMC PMC5543026
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Abstract

Aardvarks ( Orycteropus afer ) are elusive burrowing mammals, predominantly nocturnal and distributed widely throughout Africa except for arid deserts. Their survival may be threatened by climate change via direct and indirect effects of increasing heat and aridity. To measure their current physiological plasticity, we implanted biologgers into six adult aardvarks resident in the semi-arid Kalahari. Following a particularly dry and hot summer, five of the study aardvarks and 11 other aardvarks at the study site died. Body temperature records revealed homeothermy (35.4–37.2°C) initially, but heterothermy increased progressively through the summer, with declining troughs in the nychthemeral rhythm of body temperature reaching as low as 25°C before death, likely due to starvation. Activity patterns shifted from the normal nocturnal to a diurnal mode. Our results do not bode well for the future of aardvarks facing climate change. Extirpation of aardvarks, which play a key role as ecosystem engineers, may disrupt stability of African ecosystems.

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Authors
Rey, B., Fuller, A., Mitchell, D., Meyer, L. C. R., & Hetem, R. S.
Affiliations
  • Lyon 1 Université (FR)
  • University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
Corresponding author
Rey, Benjamin
ORCID
Venue
Biology Letters
Publisher
The Royal Society
Published
2017-07
Volume
13
Issue
7
Pages
20170301
ISSN
  • 1744-9561 (ISSN-L)
  • 1744-957X
DOI
10.1098/rsbl.2017.0301
PMC
PMC5543026
OpenAlex
W2736591851
Cited by
39
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3
FWCI
2.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Biology Letters (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UpSpace Institutional Repository (University of Pretoria) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Friedel Sellschop Award
  • South African National Research Foundation
  • University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
  • Tswalu Foundation
  • Claude Leon Foundation
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock
Keywords
Orycteropodidae, drought, starvation, climate change, body temperature, heterothermy, homeothermy, activity patterns, diurnal activity, nocturnal activity, biologgers, Kalahari, semi-arid ecosystems, ecosystem engineers, extinction risk
MeSH terms
Animals, Body Temperature Regulation, Botswana, Xenarthra, Ecosystem, Droughts, Climate Change

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