Oxygen Consumption and Body Temperature of Female Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) under Simulated Roost Conditions

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Abstract
Oxygen consumption of freshly captured little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) was monitored throughout the day- and night-roosting periods. The laboratory protocol simulated average roost conditions. The bats were allowed to cluster together inside a metabolic chamber made from a wooden beam; ambient temperatures were changed every 90 min and mimicked normal circadian changes measured inside an actual roost. Based on measured rates of oxygen consumption and data from the literature, daily energy expenditure of M. lucifugus in mid to late pregnancy was 32.58 kJ bat⁻¹ day⁻¹; energy costs during peak lactation were 49.11 kJ bat⁻¹ day⁻¹, or 50.7% greater than the cost of late pregnancy. There was no indication of daily torpor in pregnant, lactating, or postlactating bats; body temperature was apparently between 34 and 39 C throughout the roosting periods.