Data from: The importance of mammalian torpor for survival in a post-fire landscape

Wildfires have increased in frequency and intensity worldwide with climate change as a main driving factor. While a number of studies have focussed on population changes in regard to fires, there are essentially no quantitative data on behavioural and physiological adjustments that are vital for the persistence of individuals during and after fires. Here we show that a small insectivorous marsupial mammal: (i) endured a prescribed fire in situ, (ii) remained in its scorched home range despite unburned areas nearby and (iii) substantially increased post-fire torpor use and thus reduced foraging requirements and exposure to predators. Hence, torpor is a physiological adaptation that, although not quantified in this context previously, appears to play a key role in post-fire survival for this and likely other heterothermic species.以气候变化为核心驱动因素，全球范围内野火的发生频率与强度均呈显著上升趋势。尽管已有大量研究聚焦于火灾关联的种群动态变化，但目前几乎尚未获得与个体在火灾发生期间及灾后存续密切相关的行为与生理适应机制相关的定量数据。本研究针对一种小型食虫性有袋类哺乳动物展开，结果表明：(i) 该物种可原位耐受计划烧除（prescribed fire）；(ii) 即便周边存在未受火烧的区域，其仍留守于已被灼烧的家域范围内；(iii) 灾后其蛰伏（torpor）的使用频次显著提升，进而降低了觅食需求与被捕食风险。由此可见，蛰伏是一种生理适应策略——尽管此前未在该研究场景下得到量化验证，但其似乎在该物种乃至其他异温性物种（heterothermic species）的灾后存活过程中发挥着关键作用。