Lactate as a key energy source facilitating cooperative behaviour in helper Damaraland mole-rats

dc.contributor.authorCumming, Gisele S.
dc.contributor.authorBennett, Nigel Charles
dc.contributor.authorScantlebury, David Michael
dc.contributor.authorHart, Daniel William
dc.contributor.authorJacobs, Paul Juan
dc.contributor.emailnigel.bennett@up.ac.za
dc.date.accessioned2025-08-27T11:22:21Z
dc.date.available2025-08-27T11:22:21Z
dc.date.issued2025-07
dc.description.abstractThis study explores the metabolic factors that may aid in the division of labour in cooperatively breeding Damaraland mole-rat (Fukomys damarensis) colonies, particularly during digging activities. In these group-living mammals, both breeders and non-breeders participate in digging, among other cooperative tasks; however, non-breeding males and females (NBFs), often referred to as ‘helpers’, undertake this task at a higher frequency and engage in other energetically demanding activities more often than their breeding counterparts. We investigated how variation in glucose and lactate levels, two key energy substrates, relates to different levels of digging activity between breeders and non-breeders and how these metabolic patterns might underpin reproductive differences in activity and energy budgets. While both breeding females (BFs) and NBFs exhibited similar decreases in glucose levels after digging, lactate dynamics revealed a key distinction, NBFs experienced a significant drop in plasma lactate, suggesting lactate utilization. In contrast, BFs showed an increase in lactate, indicating its accumulation rather than utilization, potentially contributing to their reduced involvement in digging activity. These findings suggest that lactate recycling and metabolism may play a crucial role in sustaining prolonged physical exertion in NBFs, providing a potential physiological explanation for the division of labour in mole-rat colonies.
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomology
dc.description.departmentMammal Research Institute
dc.description.librarianhj2025
dc.description.sdgSDG-15: Life on land
dc.description.sponsorshipThe SARChI chair for Mammal Behavioural Ecology and Physiology, South Africa, the DST-NRF.
dc.identifier.citationCumming, G.S., Bennett, N.C., Scantlebury, D.M. et al. 2025, 'Lactate as a key energy source facilitating cooperative behaviour in helper Damaraland mole-rats', Biology Letters, vol. 21, no. 7, art. 20250006, doi : 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0006.
dc.identifier.issn1744-9561 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1744-957X (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1098/rsbl.2025.0006
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/104026
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherRoyal Society
dc.rights© 2025 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
dc.subjectFukomys damarensis
dc.subjectGlucose
dc.subjectLactate
dc.subjectExercise
dc.subjectEusociality
dc.subjectDivision of labour
dc.subjectDamaraland mole-rat (Fukomys damarensis)
dc.titleLactate as a key energy source facilitating cooperative behaviour in helper Damaraland mole-rats
dc.typePostprint Article

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