Sminthopsis Macroura

Thermoregulation and reproduction are energetically costly events that many mammals face. To combat these obstacles, animals have developed the use of seasonally induced torpor and reproductive periods. Both of these events are usually initiated through a predictable environmental factor, primarily photoperiod. These two systems are usually mutually exclusive, but in Sminthopsis macroura, an Australian marsupial that reproduces in the winter, they can overlap since females with torpor being used during pregnancy. This study looked at the impact of reproductive hormones on torpor in the Sminthopsis macroura.
10 males and 10 females aged 1-2 years were used in this experiment. They were placed under a short photoperiod (SP) with Light:Day being