ISSN:
1432-136X
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary 1. Rates of oxygen consumption were measured during locomotion in five species of marsupials of the family Dasyuridae. The body weights of the animals ranged between 0.15 and 1.12 kilograms. 2. The rate of change of power input with speed was generally lower than equivalent eutherian values. The extrapolation to zero speed was consistently a higher multiple of resting metabolic levels than found in eutherians. 3. The minimum cost of locomotion (M run) as a function of body mass (wt) is described by the equationM run=4.75 wt−0.34. The exponent is similar to that described for eutherians and reptiles, but the constant term is significantly lower. 4. Metabolic scope in these animals is similar over the size range used and may be greater than in eutherians. 5. Heat dissipation during locomotion has been partitioned into evaporative and non-evaporative routes. Storage of heat during locomotion was never more than fifty per cent of total production.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00689415
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