UNE professor's article among 'most cited' in leading journal

February 19, 2007

An article by a zoologist at the University of New England has been named as one of the most influential papers published by the leading international journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (PBZ) in its 80-year history.

UNE's Professor Fritz Geiser, a world authority on hibernation, collaborated with his European colleague Professor Thomas Ruf in writing "Hibernation versus daily torpor in mammals and birds", published by PBZ in 1995.

In its 80th anniversary issue, PBZ includes a list of its 80 "most cited" articles – i.e., the articles most often referred to in the scientific literature as being authoritative bases for subsequent research. Professor Geiser's paper is the most recently-published in the list, meaning that it has received as many citations since 1995 as some of the other papers in a list that goes back to1927.

The paper analyses physiological data from 104 species of mammals and birds in its comparison of hibernation (prolonged torpor) with the similar but shorter-term state of daily torpor. It concludes that the most reliable feature in distinguishing between the two states is "maximum torpor bout duration" (1.5 – 22 hours for daily torpor; 96 – 1,080 hours for hibernation) rather than measures of "shallow" and "deep" torpor.

Professor Geiser and his UNE colleagues and students have carried out extensive research on torpor patterns in mammals such as echidnas, marsupial "mice", pygmy-possums, gliders, bats and rodents, and birds such as kookaburras, tawny frogmouths and owlet-nightjars. Professor Geiser is pictured here with an eastern pygmy-possum.

"Hibernation and daily torpor both result in a pronounced reduction in body temperature and metabolism, causing a decrease in energy and water requirements," he said. "Understanding the mechanisms at work in producing this condition could help to solve many medical problems. For example, if the heart could be cooled and slowed down, surgeons would have more time to operate. And if the brain's requirement for oxygen could be lowered substantially as it is in hibernators, it might be possible to salvage brain tissue that would otherwise be lost after a stroke or other brain injury."

Professor Geiser's work on hibernation also has implications for conservation biology. At a recent "recovery workshop" at Melbourne Zoo on the endangered mountain pygmy-possum, which hibernates for six months under snow in the Australian Alps, his work was crucial in establishing maintenance and breeding plans. The aim of the recovery team is to breed mountain pygmy-possums in captivity that - unlike previously-bred individuals – are able to hibernate, and can therefore be released into the wild.

He feels he is fortunate in being able to make a fundamental contribution to science in the company of delightful creatures such as pygmy-possums. "My wife often suggests that I love my little marsupials more than her," he said.

The full title of the 1995 paper by F. Geiser and T. Ruf in Volume 68 of PBZ is "Hibernation versus daily torpor in mammals and birds: physiological variables and classification of torpor patterns". It can be found on the Internet by going to:
http://www.esnrm.une.edu.au/staff/fritzgeiser.html.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at February 19, 2007 06:11 PM