scholarly journals Behaviour, temperature and terrain slope impact estimates of energy expenditure using oxygen and dynamic body acceleration

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor R. Dickinson ◽  
Philip A. Stephens ◽  
Nikki J. Marks ◽  
Rory P. Wilson ◽  
David M. Scantlebury
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Capra Hircus ◽  
Energetic Costs ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Rest Energy ◽  
Body Acceleration ◽  
Energy Expenditures ◽  
Terrain Slope ◽  
Free Ranging

AbstractThe energy used by animals is influenced by intrinsic (e.g. physiological) and extrinsic (e.g. environmental) factors. Accelerometers within biologging devices have proven useful for assessing energy expenditures and their behavioural context in free-ranging animals. However, certain assumptions are frequently made when acceleration is used as a proxy for energy expenditure, with factors, such as environmental variation (e.g. ambient temperature or slope of terrain), seldom accounted for. To determine the possible interactions between behaviour, energy expenditure and the environment (ambient temperature and terrain slope), the rate of oxygen consumption ($${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{2}$$ V ˙ O 2 ) was measured in pygmy goats (Capra hircus aegarus) using open-flow indirect calorimetry. The effect of temperature (9.7–31.5 °C) on resting energy expenditure was measured. The relationship between $${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{2}$$ V ˙ O 2 and dynamic body acceleration (DBA) was measured at different walking speeds (0.8–3.0 km h−1) and on different inclines (0, + 15°, − 15°). The daily behaviour of individuals was measured in two enclosures: enclosure A (level terrain during summer) and enclosure B (sloped terrain during winter) and per diem energy expenditures of behaviours estimated using behaviour, DBA, temperature, terrain slope and $${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{2}$$ V ˙ O 2 . During rest, energy expenditure increased below 22 °C and above 30.5 °C. $${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{2}$$ V ˙ O 2 (ml min−1) increased with DBA when walking on the level. Walking uphill (+ 15°) increased energetic costs three-fold, whereas walking downhill (− 15°) increased energetic costs by one third. Based on these results, although activity levels were higher in animals in enclosure A during summer, energy expenditure was found to be significantly higher in the sloped enclosure B in winter (means of enclosures A and B: 485.3 ± 103.6 kJ day−1 and 744.5 ± 132.4 kJ day−1). We show that it is essential to account for extrinsic factors when calculating animal energy budgets. Our estimates of the impacts of extrinsic factors should be applicable to other free ranging ungulates.

scholarly journals Accelerometer informed time-energy budgets reveal the importance of temperature to the activity of a wild, arid zone canid

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Tatler ◽  
Shannon E. Currie ◽  
Phillip Cassey ◽  
Anne K. Scharf ◽  
David A. Roshier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Gps Data ◽  
Daily Energy Expenditure ◽  
Body Acceleration ◽  
Daily Energy ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract BackgroundMovement is the major contributor to active energy expenditure in most vertebrates and it is regularly characterised by body acceleration that can be captured by animal-attached accelerometers (ACC). Overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) is a metric derived from ACC data, which can be used as a proxy for energy expenditure over fine time scales. MethodsHere, we used ACC and GPS data collected from free-ranging dingoes in central Australia to investigate their activity-specific energetics, and activity patterns through time and space. We classified dingo activity into stationary, walking, and running behaviours, and estimated daily energy expenditure via activity-specific time-energy budgets. We tested whether dingoes behaviourally thermoregulate by modelling ODBA as a function of ambient temperature (Ta) during the day and night. We used traditional distance measurements (GPS) as well as fine-scale activity (ODBA) data to assess their daily movement patterns.ResultsWe retrieved ACC and GPS data from seven dingoes. Their mass-specific daily energy expenditure was significantly lower in summer (288 kJ kg-1 day-1) than winter (495 kJ kg-1 day-1; p = 0.03). Overall, dingoes were much less active during summer where 91% of their day was spent stationary in contrast to just 46% during winter. There was a sharp decrease in ODBA with increasing ambient temperature during the day (R2 = 0.59), whereas ODBA increased with increasing Ta at night (R2 = 0.39). Distance and ODBA were positively correlated (R = 0.65) and produced similar crepuscular patterns of activity.ConclusionOur results indicated solar radiation and ambient temperature drove the behaviour of dingoes. Seasonal differences of daily energy expenditure (DEE) in free-ranging eutherian mammals have been found in several species, though this was the first time it has been observed in a wild canid. The negative relationship between dingo activity (ODBA) and Ta during the day implies that high heat gain from solar radiation is a factor limiting diurnal dingo activity in an arid environment.

scholarly journals Dynamic body acceleration as a proxy to predict the cost of locomotion in bottlenose dolphins

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin S. Allen ◽  
Andrew J. Read ◽  
K. Alex Shorter ◽  
Joaquin Gabaldon ◽  
Ashley M. Blawas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Energetic Costs ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Body Acceleration

Estimates of the energetic costs of locomotion (COL) at different activity levels are necessary to answer fundamental eco-physiological questions and to understand the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance to marine mammals. We combined estimates of energetic costs derived from breath-by-breath respirometry with measurements of overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) from biologging tags to validate ODBA as a proxy for COL in trained common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). We measured resting metabolic rate (RMR); mean individual RMR was 0.71-1.42 times that of a similarly sized terrestrial mammal and agreed with past measurements which used breath-by-breath and flow-through respirometry. We also measured energy expenditure during submerged swim trials, at primarily moderate exercise levels. We subtracted RMR to obtain COL, and normalized COL by body size to incorporate individual swimming efficiencies. We found both mass-specific energy expenditure and mass-specific COL were linearly related with ODBA. Measurements of activity level and cost of transport (the energy required to move a given distance) improve understanding of the costs of locomotion in marine mammals. The strength of the correlation between ODBA and COL varied among individuals, but the overall relationship can be used at a broad scale to estimate the energetic costs of disturbance, daily locomotion costs to build energy budgets, and investigate the costs of diving in free-ranging animals where bio-logging data are available. We propose that a similar approach could be applied to other cetacean species.

scholarly journals Accelerometer informed time-energy budgets reveal the importance of temperature to the activity of a wild, arid zone canid

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Tatler ◽  
Shannon E. Currie ◽  
Phillip Cassey ◽  
Anne K. Scharf ◽  
David A. Roshier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Gps Data ◽  
Daily Energy Expenditure ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Daily Energy ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract Background Globally, arid regions are expanding and becoming hotter and drier with climate change. For medium and large bodied endotherms in the arid zone, the necessity to dissipate heat drives a range of adaptations, from behaviour to anatomy and physiology. Understanding how apex predators negotiate these landscapes and how they balance their energy is important as it may have broad impacts on ecosystem function. Methods We used tri-axial accelerometry (ACC) and GPS data collected from free-ranging dingoes in central Australia to investigate their activity-specific energetics, and activity patterns through time and space. We classified dingo activity into stationary, walking, and running behaviours, and estimated daily energy expenditure via activity-specific time-energy budgets developed using energy expenditure data derived from the literature. We tested whether dingoes behaviourally thermoregulate by modelling ODBA as a function of ambient temperature during the day and night. We used traditional distance measurements (GPS) as well as fine-scale activity (ODBA) data to assess their daily movement patterns. Results We retrieved ACC and GPS data from seven dingoes. Their mass-specific daily energy expenditure was significantly lower in summer (288 kJ kg− 1 day− 1) than winter (495 kJ kg− 1 day− 1; p = 0.03). Overall, dingoes were much less active during summer where 91% of their day was spent stationary in contrast to just 46% during winter. There was a sharp decrease in ODBA with increasing ambient temperature during the day (R2 = 0.59), whereas ODBA increased with increasing Ta at night (R2 = 0.39). Distance and ODBA were positively correlated (R = 0.65) and produced similar crepuscular patterns of activity. Conclusion Our results indicate that ambient temperature may drive the behaviour of dingoes. Seasonal differences of daily energy expenditure in free-ranging eutherian mammals have been found in several species, though this was the first time it has been observed in a wild canid. We conclude that the negative relationship between dingo activity (ODBA) and ambient temperature during the day implies that high heat gain from solar radiation may be a factor limiting diurnal dingo activity in an arid environment.

Ambient temperature effects on physiological traits of white-tailed deer

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 679-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Holter ◽  
W. E. Urban Jr. ◽  
H. H. Hayes ◽  
H. Silver ◽  
H. R. Skutt
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Temperature Effects ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Wind Chill ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Energy Equilibrium ◽  
Body Energy

Six adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus borealis) were exposed to 165 periods of 12 consecutive hours of controlled constant ambient temperature in an indirect respiration calorimeter. Temperatures among periods varied from 38 to 0 (summer) or to −20C (fall, winter, spring). Traits measured were energy expenditure (metabolic rate), proportion of time spent standing, heart rate, and body temperature, the latter two using telemetry. The deer used body posture extensively as a means of maintaining body energy equilibrium. Energy expenditure was increased at low ambient temperature to combat cold and to maintain relatively constant body temperature. Changes in heart rate paralleled changes in energy expenditure. In a limited number of comparisons, slight wind chill was combatted through behavioral means with no effect on energy expenditure. The reaction of deer to varying ambient temperatures was not the same in all seasons of the year.

Measurement of ‘Basal’ and Total Metabolism in Hereditarily Obese-Hyperglycemic Mice

1958 ◽  
Vol 193 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth McClintock ◽  
Nathan Lifson
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Voluntary Movement ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Production ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Energy Output ◽  
Obese Mice ◽  
Energy Expenditures ◽  
Isotope Method

Measurements of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production were made by the Haldane open circuit method on hereditarily obese mice and littermate controls, and the energy expenditures were estimated. Studies were made on mice for short periods under ‘basal’ conditions, and for periods of approximately a day with the mice fasted and confined, fasted and relatively unconfined, and fed and unconfined. The total energy expenditures of fed and unconfined obese mice were found to be higher than those of nonobese littermate controls by virtue of a) increased ‘basal metabolism’, b) greater energy expenditure associated with feeding, and possibly c) larger energy output for activity despite reduced voluntary movement. The values obtained for total metabolism confirm those previously determined by an isotope method for measuring CO2 output.

scholarly journals Validating accelerometry-derived proxies of energy expenditure using the doubly-labelled water method in the smallest penguin species

Biology Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. bio.055475
Author(s):  
G. J. Sutton ◽  
J. A. Botha ◽  
J. R. Speakman ◽  
J. P. Y. Arnould
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Travel Speed ◽  
Specific Energy Expenditure ◽  
Doubly Labelled Water ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Behavioural Patterns ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
The Relationship

Understanding energy use is central to understanding an animal's physiological and behavioural ecology. However, directly measuring energy expenditure in free-ranging animals is inherently difficult. The doubly-labelled water (DLW) method is widely used to investigate energy expenditure in a range of taxa. Although reliable, DLW data collection and analysis is both financially costly and time consuming. Dynamic body acceleration (e.g. VeDBA) calculated from animal-borne accelerometers has been used to determine behavioural patterns, and is increasingly being used as a proxy for energy expenditure. Still its performance as a proxy for energy expenditure in free-ranging animals is not well established and requires validation against established methods. In the present study, the relationship between VeDBA and the at-sea metabolic rate calculated from DLW was investigated in little penguins (Eudyptula minor) using three approaches. Both in a simple correlation and activity-specific approaches were shown to be good predictors of at-sea metabolic rate. The third approach using activity-specific energy expenditure values obtained from literature did not accurately calculate the energy expended by individuals. However, all three approaches were significantly strengthened by the addition of mean horizontal travel speed. These results provide validation for the use of accelerometry as a proxy for energy expenditure and show how energy expenditure may be influenced by both individual behaviour and environmental conditions.

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