Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss
Understanding variations in the routes by which wild animals gain and lose water is challenging, and common methods require longitudinal sampling, which can be prohibitive. However, a new approach uses Δ′17OBW (Δ′17O of animal body water), calculated from measurements of δ′17O and δ′18O in a single...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241942 |
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| author | Zachary T. Steele Karen Caceres Zachary A. David Lisa M. Shollenberger Alexander R. Gerson Seth D. Newsome John P. Whiteman |
| author_facet | Zachary T. Steele Karen Caceres Zachary A. David Lisa M. Shollenberger Alexander R. Gerson Seth D. Newsome John P. Whiteman |
| author_sort | Zachary T. Steele |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding variations in the routes by which wild animals gain and lose water is challenging, and common methods require longitudinal sampling, which can be prohibitive. However, a new approach uses Δ′17OBW (Δ′17O of animal body water), calculated from measurements of δ′17O and δ′18O in a single sample, as a natural tracer of water flux. Δ′17OBW is promising, but its relationship to organismal variables such as metabolic rate and water intake have not been validated. Here, we continuously measured oxygen influxes and effluxes of captive deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), and manipulated their water intake and metabolic rate. We used these oxygen flux data to predict Δ′17OBW for the mice and compared these model predictions with Δ′17OBW measured in blood plasma samples. As expected, Δ′17OBW positively correlated with drinking water intake and negatively correlated with metabolic rate. All predicted Δ′17OBW (based on measured oxygen fluxes) values differed from measured Δ′17OBW values by <30 per meg (mean absolute difference: 11 ± 9 per meg), suggesting high accuracy for this modelling approach because studies currently report a range of 300 per meg for Δ′17OBW among mammals, birds and fish. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0b4e0a882f374f17a29e0113f7a3d0ef |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-0b4e0a882f374f17a29e0113f7a3d0ef2025-08-20T03:47:41ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-05-0112510.1098/rsos.241942Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and lossZachary T. Steele0Karen Caceres1Zachary A. David2Lisa M. Shollenberger3Alexander R. Gerson4Seth D. Newsome5John P. Whiteman6Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USABiological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USABiological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USABiological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USABiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USABiology Department, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USABiological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USAUnderstanding variations in the routes by which wild animals gain and lose water is challenging, and common methods require longitudinal sampling, which can be prohibitive. However, a new approach uses Δ′17OBW (Δ′17O of animal body water), calculated from measurements of δ′17O and δ′18O in a single sample, as a natural tracer of water flux. Δ′17OBW is promising, but its relationship to organismal variables such as metabolic rate and water intake have not been validated. Here, we continuously measured oxygen influxes and effluxes of captive deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), and manipulated their water intake and metabolic rate. We used these oxygen flux data to predict Δ′17OBW for the mice and compared these model predictions with Δ′17OBW measured in blood plasma samples. As expected, Δ′17OBW positively correlated with drinking water intake and negatively correlated with metabolic rate. All predicted Δ′17OBW (based on measured oxygen fluxes) values differed from measured Δ′17OBW values by <30 per meg (mean absolute difference: 11 ± 9 per meg), suggesting high accuracy for this modelling approach because studies currently report a range of 300 per meg for Δ′17OBW among mammals, birds and fish.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241942triple oxygen isotopesdoubly labelled watermetabolic waterstable isotopes17O-excessanimal water balance |
| spellingShingle | Zachary T. Steele Karen Caceres Zachary A. David Lisa M. Shollenberger Alexander R. Gerson Seth D. Newsome John P. Whiteman Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss Royal Society Open Science triple oxygen isotopes doubly labelled water metabolic water stable isotopes 17O-excess animal water balance |
| title | Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss |
| title_full | Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss |
| title_fullStr | Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss |
| title_full_unstemmed | Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss |
| title_short | Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss |
| title_sort | validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss |
| topic | triple oxygen isotopes doubly labelled water metabolic water stable isotopes 17O-excess animal water balance |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241942 |
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