Turnover of Sodium and Water by Free-Living Rabbits, Oryctolagus Cuniculus.

1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Green ◽  
J Dunsmore ◽  
H Bults ◽  
K Newgrain
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
South Wales

Four places in New South Wales were chosen that had a permanent water supply and vegetation with very low or very high Na content, or no surface water during the study and medium, or low to medium, Na content. Wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were caught in those places, given 22NaCl and 3H2O by intraperitoneal injection and held for 4 to 5 h, then blood samples were taken and the rabbits were weighed, marked and released at the point of capture. After another 8 to 23 days they were recaptured and weighed, and blood samples were taken. Between the 7 or 8 values for different places and dates, mean bodyweight ranged from 937 to 1650 g, exchangeable Na from 37.37 to 50.10 mEq/kg bodyweight or 48.78 to 67.93 mEq/litre body water, Na turnover from 0.51 to 13.95 mEq/kg bodyweight daily, Na biological half-life from 2.3 to 55.0 days, total body water 677 to 777 ml/kg, water turnover 88 to 375 ml/kg daily and water half-life 1.4 to 5.6 days. Mean values are for groups of 4 to 25 rabbits. Between the 4 places, water content of vegetation ranged from 142 to 832 mg/kg fresh vegetation and, including 2 sites at one of the 4 places, Na content ranged from 0.51 to 20.98 mEq/kg fresh and 2.41 to 124.9 mEq/kg dry matter. There was a positive linear relation between Na in fresh vegetation and Na turnover rate in rabbits. The relation between water content of vegetation and water turnover in rabbits was not precise, because probably of such factors as diet selection, rain and accessibility and use of water. Lactation may have a strong effect on rabbits when water or Na is scarce, because rabbits may not ingest the faeces and urine of their young like other animals.Low rate of water turnover, especially after metabolic weight correction, demonstrated the efficiency of water conservation of rabbits and partly explained their success in dry places. Published values for other species are compared. Food items were not identified in the present work, but identification and analysis of their Na content would allow qualitative calculation of the food intake of free-living herbivores from their Na turnover.

Water content and water turnover in beef cattle

1968 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
PH Springell
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Turnover Rate ◽  
Tritiated Water ◽  
Body Water ◽  
The Body ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Poor Diet ◽  
The Mean

Twenty-four steers, comprising British (Hereford and Hereford x Shorthorn), Zebu (Africander), and Zebu cross (British x Brahman or Africander) breeds, were either maintained on pasture, or yarded and fed on diets of a low and a high nutritional value. Tritiated water was injected into the animals on five occasions at intervals of 3 months. The body water content and the water turnover rate were calculated, and some of the sources of variation defined. Observed differences in the water content are attributable to nutritional factors rather than to breed differences. The mean body water content ranged from 615 to 809 ml/kg fasting body weight, where the higher values were associated with a poor diet. The mean half-life of tritiated water was lower in summer (as low as 58 hr) than in winter (up to 128 hr) in grazing and well-fed yarded steers. On a poor diet, however, the half-life in yarded cattle remained high and almost constant throughout the year, dropping to below 100 hr on only a single occasion. Occasionally the half-life was breed dependent, but generally no significant differences between breeds could be found. While mean turnover rates of up to 7.1 ml kg-1 hr-1 were found in better-fed cattle in summer, the value in poorly fed animals was almost constant throughout the year at about 3.3 ml kg-1 hr-1. There was, however, a winter minimum in the well-fed yarded and grazing groups. The turnover rate was also influenced by breed only to a limited extent. The results are interpreted in the light of their possible significance in the adaptation to a tropical environment, and in relation to their value in predicting the body composition.

Effective Body Water Half-life and Total Body Water in Rhesus and Cynomolgus Monkeys

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 935-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efteem Azar ◽  
Seth Thomas Shaw Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Menstrual Cycles ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Total Body ◽  
Effective Water ◽  
Male Rhesus

Although body water content and effective water half-life have been determined in several mammalian species, including man, these measurements are not available for sub-human primates to our knowledge. Values were therefore determined in a group of rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys.A fairly wide range of water half-life values was found in each of the two species between animals, but there was little variation within animals who had more than one determination over the course of 1 year. Mean values for effective water half-life were 7.2 days and 3.7 days for naturally menstruating females of the cynomolgus and rhesus species, respectively. Water half-life in female rhesus monkeys with artificial menstrual cycles averaged 6.2 days. Females of both species had a similar percentage of body water content of 64%. Water half-life measured 7.1 and 8.5 days in two male rhesus; and water content was 62% of body weight in one of these animals.

Water content, water turnover, and water half-life during cold acclimation in the rhesus monkey

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
IB R. Oddershede ◽  
Reynaldo S. Elizondo
Keyword(s):  
Rhesus Monkey ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Cold Acclimation ◽  
Cold Exposure ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Dilution Method ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Biological Half Life

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cold acclimation on the dynamics of body water in primates. Six male rhesus monkeys were acclimated for 35 days at 6 °C. Water turnover rate (WTR), biological half-life (t1/23H2O), and total body water (TBW) were estimated by the tritium dilution method. A reduced water intake during the 1st week of cold acclimation was associated with a decrease in water balance (total water input minus WTR). Both drinking and total water input were decreased throughout the cold exposure. WTR was significantly decreased during the last 3 weeks of cold exposure in spite of an increased caloric consumption, which, in a thermoneutral environment, generally is associated with an increased WTR. Biological half-life for tritium showed a significant average increase during the cold stress. TBW in relation to body weight was increased during the first 2 weeks of cold exposure and had decreased to its lowest level by day 22. Calculations of TBW were independent of whether the radioactive decay curve was obtained over short (minutes) or long (days) time intervals and independent of the degree of acclimation. The major adjustments in water content and water metabolism occurred within 2 weeks of continuous cold exposure at 6 °C. The data suggest that the rhesus monkey may be an adequate primate model for studies of body fluid adjustments induced by chronic cold exposure in primates in general, including man.

Corrigendum - Water content and water turnover in beef cattle

1968 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
PH Springell
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Turnover Rate ◽  
Tritiated Water ◽  
Body Water ◽  
The Body ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Poor Diet ◽  
The Mean

Twenty-four steers, comprising British (Hereford and Hereford x Shorthorn), Zebu (Africander), and Zebu cross (British x Brahman or Africander) breeds, were either maintained on pasture, or yarded and fed on diets of a low and a high nutritional value. Tritiated water was injected into the animals on five occasions at intervals of 3 months. The body water content and the water turnover rate were calculated, and some of the sources of variation defined. Observed differences in the water content are attributable to nutritional factors rather than to breed differences. The mean body water content ranged from 615 to 809 ml/kg fasting body weight, where the higher values were associated with a poor diet. The mean half-life of tritiated water was lower in summer (as low as 58 hr) than in winter (up to 128 hr) in grazing and well-fed yarded steers. On a poor diet, however, the half-life in yarded cattle remained high and almost constant throughout the year, dropping to below 100 hr on only a single occasion. Occasionally the half-life was breed dependent, but generally no significant differences between breeds could be found. While mean turnover rates of up to 7.1 ml kg-1 hr-1 were found in better-fed cattle in summer, the value in poorly fed animals was almost constant throughout the year at about 3.3 ml kg-1 hr-1. There was, however, a winter minimum in the well-fed yarded and grazing groups. The turnover rate was also influenced by breed only to a limited extent. The results are interpreted in the light of their possible significance in the adaptation to a tropical environment, and in relation to their value in predicting the body composition.

scholarly journals Faeces is a reliable source of body water for measuring tritium in reindeer in summer and in winter

Rangifer ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir Gotaas ◽  
Nicholas J.C. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Intravenous Injection ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Rumen Fluid ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Tritium Concentration ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Water Compartments ◽  
Reliable Source ◽  
Three Body

Rates of equilibration and subsequent wash-out of tritium were measured in parallel samples of blood, rumen fluid and faeces collected from two adult female Norwegian reindeer in summer and in winter. The tritium-concentration was the same in all three body water compartments after no more than 9 h following both intravenous and intra-ruminal injection of isotope in summer and following intravenous injection of isotope in winter. The biological half-life of the tritium increased from approximately 3 days in summer to approximately 10 days in winter, probably as a consequence of a decrease in water intake. There were no significant differences in disappearance rates of tritium from blood, rumen fluid and faeces within any of the six experiments. Fresh faeces is therefore a reliable source of body water that can be used in place of blood in studies of body water kinetics in reindeer, thus making it potentially possible to conduct such studies on truly free-living and undisturbed animals.

The estimation of milk intake and growth of beef calves in the field by using tritiated water

1971 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 291 ◽  
Author(s):  
NG Yates ◽  
WV Macfarlane ◽  
R Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Water Intake ◽  
Body Weight Gain ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Milk Intake ◽  
The Other ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Significant Difference

The growth of Hereford, Friesian x Hereford, and Friesian x Shorthorn calves was studied under grazing conditions in the south-east of South Australia during the autumn period of minimal dry pasture. Measurements of body water content, water turnover, and body weight changes of calves were undertaken during an 8-week period after calving in February 1968. From these measurements, estimates were made of liveweight gain and the yield of body solids per unit of water turnover (milk intake). The subsequent development of the calves was also measured. The average birth weights of the three groups were not significantly different. The 8-week total of water intake (milk) was 405 � 14.3 1. in Shorthorn cross calves, 279 � 18.0 1. for Hereford cross, and 263 � 14.3 1. among the Herefords. Over the first 8 weeks body weight gain (g/24 hr) was highest in the Shorthorn cross calves and their body solids gain was 63 % greater than that of the Hereford cross calves but only 29 % greater than that of the Hereford calves. Water turnover (1.124 hr) of the Shorthorn cross calves was 45 % greater than that of the Hereford cross calves and 54% greater than that of the Hereford calves over the 8-week period. There was no significant difference between the three groups in body weight or solids gain per unit of milk intake (g/l), though the average conversion of milk to solids by Herefords was greater than that of the other breeds. The Shorthorn cows weighed less than the other groups after calving and their average relative and absolute loss of weight during lactation was greatest. The offspring of the Shorthorn cows had the highest water intake expressed as a function of the body weight0.75 of the cows. The water turnover of Shorthorn calves as a function of calf weight0.82 was also greater than that of the other calves. The correlations between body weight gain (g/24 hr) and water turnover (l./24 hr) and between body solids gain (g/24 hr) and water turnover (l./24 hr) were 0.815 (P < 0.001) and 0.632 (P < 0.01) respectively. The correlation between cow body weight loss and calf body weight gain was 0.481 (P < 0.05). A group of nine Friesian x Hereford calves studied for 11 weeks after calving in April 1969 on newly grown winter rainfall pasture 50 km north of Adelaide had both average water turnover (l./24 hr) and body weight gains (g/24 hr) substantially higher than those of any group in the previous year. The efficiency of conversion estimated as body solids gain and body weight gain per unit of water intake was, however, similar to those of the Hereford calves in 1968. The differences between the years are presumed to follow from differences in the amount of pasture available in the dry season, relative to pasture after the rains had come. Average body water content (TOH space) was 801 ml/kg body weight at the beginning of the measurements and gradually fell to 713 ml/kg at 11 weeks.

Body water content and water turnover of tropical Bos taurus, Bos indicus, Bibos banteng, and Bos bubalus bubalis

1969 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 613 ◽  
Author(s):  
BD Siebert ◽  
WV Macfarlane
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Bos Indicus ◽  
Bubalus Bubalis ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Wet Tropics ◽  
Increasing Temperature

The turnover of water, measured in five types of cattle, was least in the banteng during winter. The greatest rates of water turnover (848 ml/l0.82/24 hr) were among Shorthorn cows during the desert summer when feed was plentiful. In the wet tropics, however, buffalo used more water than B. taurus Shorthorns, while the B. indicus types turned over significantly less water on the same pasture. There was an increase in body water content, and a reduction in body solids, in summer relative to winter in all cattle, while the water turnover rose with increasing temperature, humidity, and food supply. After drought, Shorthorn cattle gained 40% in body weight, while increasing body water by only 4.5% as they became fat. Shorthorn steers on improved Townsville lucerne pastures during the wet season contained 48% more solids but weighed only 11% more than cattle on native vegetation, turning over greater amounts of water.

Water homeostasis in desert-dwelling horses

1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Sneddon ◽  
J. G. van der Walt ◽  
G. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Water Deprivation ◽  
Body Water ◽  
The Body ◽  
Hydration Status ◽  
Plasma Sodium ◽  
Namib Desert ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Feral Horses ◽  
Total Plasma Protein

This study set out to investigate tolerance of the body water pool to short-term water deprivation in horses and, in particular, to assess whether feral horses from the Namib Desert showed tolerance to dehydration superior to Transvaal. Hydration status was compared in six feral horses from the Namib Desert and in six Boerperd farm horses under conditions of normal hydration and after 72 h of dehydration. Under normal hydration, the two groups did not differ significantly in water intake, plasma sodium and potassium concentrations, plasma osmolality, hematocrit, total plasma protein, body water content, or water turnover (ml.kg-0.82.day-1). The Namib horses were significantly smaller (P less than 0.0001) and turned over 5 liters less water per day than the Boerperd during normal hydration and 4 liters less during dehydration. Increases in plasma sodium concentration after 72 h of dehydration were greater (P less than 0.05) in the Namib horses. It was concluded that horses can easily tolerate water deprivation that results in a 12% reductions in body mass. The feral horses of the Namib desert were not significantly different per unit mass from domestic horses with regard to indexes of total body water content under conditions of normal hydration and after 72 h of dehydration. Their smaller size and, hence, lower water turnover might be mechanisms they use for survival in the Namib Desert.

Water content and turnover of identical twin Bos indicus and B. taurus in Kenya

1966 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. V. Macfarlane ◽  
B. Howard
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Water Intake ◽  
Total Body Water ◽  
Bos Indicus ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Identical Twin ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Grazing Cattle ◽  
Total Body

The water content and turnover of six pairs of identical twin cattle were measured in the Kenya highlands. Three pairs were stall fed, and one twin of each pair received water daily. Their water turnover averaged 14.21./24 hr. while the others watered each 4 days had an average turnover of 12.41./24 hr. These stall-fed animals used 74-132 ml./kg.0.82/ 24 hr., about one-third the water turned over by grazing cattle (261-364 ml./kg.0.82/24 hr.). There was little relationship between estimates of water intake measured from the trough and that derived from tritium dilution.Members of each grazing pair differed in weight by an average of 4.2% and their total body water by 5.9%, whereas the water turnover differed by only 2.2% amongst the twin pairs.

Field and Laboratory Studies of Water Metabolism in Sminthopsis Crassicaudata (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae).

1980 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
SR Morton
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Turnover Rate ◽  
Body Water ◽  
High Water Content ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Water Metabolism ◽  
Water Turnover

S. crassicaudata is a small insectivorous marsupial which inhabits xeric to mesic habitats in southern Australia. Field and laboratory studies of the water metabolism of this species were carried out to determine the extent to which physiological adaptations contribute to its ability to inhabit arid environments. S. crassicaudata can subsist without drinking water when fed a diet of insects; this independence is made possible primarily by the high water content of the food, and not by physiological restriction of the rate of water usage as in many granivorous desert-dwelling rodents. Mean daily water turnover rates in the laboratory were 50-75% body water, and in the field were 110-190% body water. These high rates are interpreted in terms of lack of selection for water conservation in an animal subsisting on a moist diet; in such animals water turnover rate primarily reflects metabolic rate. These conclusions were supported by comparative studies of the water and energy metabolism of Planigale maculata. This species withstood water deprivation better than did S. crassicaudata, even though it inhabits much wetter environments; this was almost certainly due to its lower metabolic rate and, therefore, lower water turnover rate. These studies suggest that use of insect food by a desert-dwelling small mammal virtually removes the physiological problem of water conservation.

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