Australian researchers have identified that males of an endangered species of marsupial known as the northern quoll may be giving up hours of sleep to have more sex – and that this may be causing their death.
The study indicated that males travel long distances in search of mates for mating, often losing sleep in the process.
Lack of rest may explain why male carnivorous marsupials often mate to death during the breeding season, experts say.
Females, on the other hand, can live and reproduce for up to four years.
“They travel great distances to mate whenever possible and it seems their drive is so strong that they stop sleeping to spend more time looking for females,” said Christofer Clemente, senior lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia.
His institution led the study alongside the University of Queensland. The survey was published this Wednesday (01/02).
Northern quolls are a species of marsupial — animals that have a marsupium, a pouch where the young end their development — that only exist in Australia. They are the size of a squirrel, are carnivorous and have a restricted distribution in northern Australia.
To conduct the most recent study on the species, the researchers collected data over the course of 42 days. They installed small backpacks with trackers on the backs of male and female quolls in Groote Eylandt, an island in northern Australia.
Some of the quolls studied walked more than 10 km in a single night. This equates to almost 40 km in human distance, converting the average length of the animal’s steps, according to the researchers.
According to the study, males of the species also seem to attract more parasites. The most likely explanation for this is that they spend less time on grooming so they can get the most out of each breeding season.
The researchers further said that males are not as vigilant as females when they are looking for food or avoiding predators.
“Sleep deprivation and associated symptoms for an extended period would make recovery impossible and could explain the causes of death recorded in males after the breeding season,” said Joshua Gaschk, lead author of the study.
“They become easy prey, are unable to avoid collisions with vehicles or simply die of exhaustion.”
Gaschk added that the initial data points to the need for more study on how sleep deprivation affects quolls and other families of marsupial mammals found in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
“If males forgo sleep to the detriment of their survival, northern quolls [se tornarão] an excellent model species for studying the effects of sleep deprivation on bodily functions,” he said.
According to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, there are only around 100,000 northern quolls left in the country, but the population is “going through a rapid decline”.
Habitat loss due to development and attacks by stray cats pose a serious threat. Furthermore, these animals are particularly vulnerable to poisoning by cane toads.
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