Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Is a black coat in the desert a means of saving metabolic energy?

Abstract

Black goats of small body size (15–22 kg) dominate the herds of the Bedouins inhabiting the extreme deserts of the Middle East1; only a few white goats appear in such herds. Annual rainfall in these deserts varies from 15 to less than 150 mm; resources of food are sparse and watering points widely spaced. Summer is extremely hot and winter may be bitterly cold. Cloudy days are rare and solar radiation is immense all the year round2. Presumably, special adaptations would have been required in order to thrive in these harsh deserts. Can the black colour of the Bedouin goat be considered such an adaptation? Here, we have attempted to answer this question, and have found that by absorbing more of the Sun's energy on cold days, the temperature of the coat dramatically increased and the goat's oxygen consumption decreased significantly.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Epstein, H. J. Hered. 11, 345–352 (1946); J. E. Africa Agric. 18, 123–132 (1953).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Manes, A. & Teitelman, A. Israel met. Res. Pap., Israel met. Soc. 1, 137–155 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Hutchinson, J. C. D. & Brown, G. D. J. appl. Physiol. 26, 454–464 (1969).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Cena, K. & Monteith, J. L. Proc. R. Soc. 188, 377–393 (1975).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Borut, A., Dmi'el, R. & Shkolnik, A. Physiol. Zool. 52, 105–112 (1979).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Finch, V. A., Dmi'el, R., Boxman, R., Shkolnik, A. & Taylor, C. R. Physiol. Zool. (in the press).

  7. Dmi'el, R., Robertshaw, D. & Choshniak, I. Physiol. Zool. 52, 558–564 (1979).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Tadmor, N. H., Eyal, E. & Benjamin, R. J. Range Mgmt. 27, 427–432 (1974).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Shkolnik, A., Borut, A. & Choshniak, I. Symp. zool. Soc. Lond. 31, 229–242 (1972).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Choshniak, I. & Shkolnik, A. Alfred Benzon Symp. 11, 344–352 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1978).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Shkolnik, A., Taylor, C. R., Finch, V. A. & Borut, A. Nature 283, 373–375 (1980).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dmi'el, R., Prevulotzky, A. & Shkolnik, A. Is a black coat in the desert a means of saving metabolic energy?. Nature 283, 761–762 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/283761a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/283761a0

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing