Energetic cost of locomotion as a function of ambient temperature and during growth in the marsupial Potorous tridactylus.

Abstract

In the marsupial, the potoroo, multiple regression analysis shows that ambient temperature makes a minor (2%) contribution towards variation in oxygen consumption with speed. This suggests that the heat generated during running is substituted for heat which would otherwise have to be generated for temperature regulation. Maximum levels of oxygen consumption are also temperature-independent over the range 5-25 degrees C, but plasma lactate concentrations at the conclusion of exercise significantly increase with ambient temperature. Adult potoroos show a linear increase in oxygen consumption with speed, and multiple regression indicates that the most significant factor affecting energy use during running is stride length. Juvenile potoroos have an incremental cost of locomotion about 40% lower than that predicted on the basis of body mass. The smaller animals meet the demands of increasing speed by increasing stride length rather than stride frequency, as would be expected in a smaller species. Our results show that juvenile potoroos diverge significantly from models based only on adult animals in incremental changes in stride frequency, length and the cost of transport, suggesting that they are not simply scaled-down adults.