Journal
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
Volume 83, Issue 9, Pages 1257-1263Publisher
CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING, NRC RESEARCH PRESS
DOI: 10.1139/Z05-120
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Blood samples were drawn from six black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) active in the summer and six others in early and late hibernation. Plasma urea:creatinine ratios and concentrations of amino acids, alanine aminotransferase. and aspartate aminotransferase dropped during the winter denning season, suggesting a decreased protein breakdown. Fifteen amino acids (3 branched chain and 12 glucogenic) were lower in the early winter than in the summer but 6 of these amino acids rose back to summer levels by the late denning season. Hydroxyproline and glycine were also elevated during late winter, suggesting an increase in collagen breakdown. This profile suggests a dynamic process of adaptive fasting and protein conservation during the winter with a mobilization of non-myofibrilar collagen and perhaps smooth muscle protein reserves to augment a potential but slight increased breakdown of skeletal muscle during the late winter.
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