Metabolic Benefits of Huddling During Acute Thermal Stress in Southern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys volans)

Christine D. Rhodes¹ and James A. Wilson^1,*

¹Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182-0040. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 25, Issue 3 (2026): 403–414

First published early online: 20 September 2026

Abstract
Glaucomys volans (Southern Flying Squirrel) utilize group huddling to reduce energetic demands at cold temperatures. We examined the metabolic benefits of huddling in group sizes of 1, 3, and 6 Southern Flying Squirrels, from Georgia, USA, across ambient temperatures from -5.0 to 30 °C. Huddling in groups of either 3 or 6 showed reduced metabolic rate (13.3–37.2% reduction) at ambient temperatures of -5.0 to 10.0 °C when compared to single individuals. There were no energic differences for any huddling group at ambient temperatures of 15.0–25.0 °C, and at 30.0 °C there was a 24.9–45.4% energetic increase to flying squirrels huddling in a group of 3 compared to individual squirrels, but no difference between a group of 6 and a single individual. Southern Flying Squirrels in this study showed that they could save up to 34.8% of their metabolic costs by huddling at cold temperatures, and that the use of huddling as a strategy is still present in populations at the southern portion of their range.

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