Seasonal differences in the feeding ecology and behavior of male edible dormice (Glis glis)

Mammalian hibernators undergo dramatic seasonal changes of food intake and the use of their gastrointestinal tract. During several months of hibernation fat-storing hibernators do not use their intestinal tract for nutritional intake. However, during the rest of the year they have to increase their energy intake in order to compensate high reproductive investment and store sufficient body fat to survive the following hibernation period. Edible dormice (Glis glis) are obligate fat-storing hibernators which hibernate in Germany from September until June. Males incur high energetic costs during mating and as soon as reproduction is terminated they have to accumulate high quantities of fat to survive hibernation. In order to understand how fat-storing hibernators like edible dormice cope with these energetically demanding situations, we measured body mass changes of captured male edible dormice in the field and studied their feeding ecology. Furthermore, we measured seasonal changes in food ingestion and assimilation rates by feeding experiments carried out in captivity.