Strategies of behavior,energetic and thermogenesis of striped hamsters in response to food deprivation

The life history of many animals includes periods of food shortage. Two behavioral strategies are involved in small mammals in response to food shortage: an increase in activity behavior, representing the increased foraging or migratory behavior, and a decrease in activity level, serving as a mechanism for conserving energy. However, it is uncertain whether animals adopt both strategies in response to food shortage, and whether hormone and neuroendocrine mechanisms are involved in both strategies. In the present study, changes in behavior and metabolic rate were examined in food‐deprived striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis). The effects of leptin supplement on activity behavior, metabolic rate and hypothalamic neuropeptide gene expression were also examined. The behavior of food‐deprived hamsters significantly changed with photoperiod phases: with increasing activity during the dark phase compared to those fed ad libitum, whereas decreasing activity and simultaneously increasing resting behavior during the light phase. Resting metabolic rate, body mass, and masses of fat depots and digestive tracts significantly decreased in food‐deprived hamsters compared with ad libitum controls. Leptin supplement tended to attenuate the increased activity in the dark phase. Gene expression of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) was significantly upregulated in food‐deprived hamsters, while was significantly attenuated by exogenous leptin. These findings suggest that both behavior strategies are important behavioral adjustments in free‐living animals to cope with food shortage. Leptin and hypothalamic NPY gene expression may be involved in the adjustments of physiology and behavior in animals demonstrating a hyperactivity strategy in response to food shortage.