Applicability of the doubly labelled water method to the rhinoceros auklet, Cerorhinca monocerata

Abstract

Summary The doubly labelled water (DLW) method is an isotope-based technique that is used to measure the metabolic rates of free-living animals. We validated the DLW method for measuring metabolic rates in five rhinoceros auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) compared with simultaneous measurements using the respirometric method. We calculated the CO2 production rate of four auklets (mean initial body mass: 552 g±36 s.d.) injected with DLW, using the one- and two-pool models. The metabolic rate during the 24-h measurements in a respirometric chamber for resting auklets averaged 16.30±1.66 kJ h−1 (n = 4). The metabolic rates determined using the one- and two-pool models in the DLW method for the same period as the respirometric measurement averaged 16.61±2.13 kJ h−1 (n = 4) and 16.16±2.10 kJ h−1 (n = 4), respectively. The mean absolute percent error between the DLW and respirometric methods was 8.04% using the one-pool model and was slightly better than that with the two-pool model. The differences in value between the DLW and respirometric methods are probably due to oxygen isotope turnover, which eliminated only 10–14% of the initial enrichment excess.