Data from: Environmental structure and energetic consequences in groups of young mice

Microenvironments can have considerable physiological consequences for the inhabitants by influencing the movements of individual members. The microenvironment can permit more diverse aggregation patterns or restrict movements to certain dimensions. Here, we tested whether aspects of the microenvironment that influenced aggregation patterns also influenced the energetics of groups of young animals. We tested the effects of enclosure configuration on the group temperature and respiration of infant mice (Mus musculus). We monitored the huddle temperature and respiration of groups in flat, concave and conical enclosures, which varied in shape and available space, and consequently the types of movements they permitted. We found that the amount of available space (or density) had a stronger effect on the group temperature than did the shape of the enclosure or types of permissible movements. We found no evidence that density or shape of the arena strongly affected the respiration rate of the group, with groups showing similar levels of oxygen consumption in all treatments. The lower density enclosures conveyed a considerable metabolic savings to groups in comparison to those tested in a higher density enclosure. These findings show density can have a large effect on the energetics of young mice, and provide insights on how simple features of the environment will influence physiology in a changing world.微环境（microenvironment）可通过影响个体成员的运动行为，对栖息其中的生物产生显著的生理影响。此类微环境既可以允许形成更多样化的聚集模式，也可将个体运动限制在特定维度范围内。本研究旨在探究：影响聚集模式的微环境特征，是否同时会对幼年动物群体的能量代谢产生影响。我们以小家鼠（Mus musculus）幼崽为研究对象，测试了围场结构对群体体温与呼吸代谢的影响。我们对处于平面形、凹面形与圆锥形围场中的幼崽群体进行了集群体温与呼吸代谢监测——此类围场在形状与可用空间上各不相同，因此允许的个体运动类型也存在差异。研究结果显示，与围场形状或允许的运动类型相比，可用空间总量（即群体密度）对幼崽群体的集群体温影响更为显著。我们未发现围场密度或形状会对群体呼吸速率产生显著影响的证据：所有实验组的群体耗氧量均处于相近水平。与高密度围场中的幼崽群体相比，低密度围场中的群体可实现显著的代谢能量节省。本研究结果表明，群体密度对小家鼠幼崽的能量代谢具有显著影响，并为理解在不断变化的世界中，环境的简单特征如何影响生物生理提供了新的视角。