Consumption of Primary Production by a Population of Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys Merriami) in the Mojave Desert

1973 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars F. Soholt
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Kangaroo Rats ◽  
Dipodomys Merriami

Prevalence of cutaneous evaporation in Merriam's kangaroo rat and its adaptive variation at the subspecific level

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.L. Tracy ◽  
G.E. Walsberg
Keyword(s):  
Water Loss ◽  
Evaporative Water Loss ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Kangaroo Rats ◽  
Dipodomys Merriami ◽  
Kangaroo Rat ◽  
Mesic Site ◽  
Merriam's Kangaroo Rat ◽  
Cutaneous Evaporation ◽  
Subspecific Level

Previous estimates suggested that ventilatory evaporation constitutes the major source of water loss in kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.). We quantified rates of water loss in Merriam's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami) and demonstrate the degree to which acclimation to a particular thermal and hydric environment plays a role in the intraspecific variation in water loss evident in this species. We draw the following conclusions: (1) that water loss varies intraspecifically in Merriam's kangaroo rat, in association with habitats of contrasting aridity and temperature; (2) that animals from more xeric locations have lower water loss rates than those from more mesic sites; (3) that most water loss is cutaneous, with ventilatory evaporative water loss contributing, at most, only 44% to total evaporative water loss; and (4) that intraspecific differences in rates of water loss are not acclimatory, but fixed. After acclimating under the same conditions, xeric-site animals still show a 33% lower rate of evaporative water loss than mesic-site animals.

Wheel running of kangaroo rats, Dipodomys merriami, as related to food deprivation and body composition

1978 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Dill ◽  
L. F. Soholt ◽  
J. D. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Food Deprivation ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Wheel Running ◽  
Initial Amount ◽  
Kangaroo Rats ◽  
Dipodomys Merriami ◽  
Percentage Of Body Fat

Kangaroo rats deprived of food ran themselves to death in 48 h in wheel cages. Despite the loss of 14.5% of body weight the ratio of water to protein was the same after the run as it was in control rats. Metabolic measurements at rest and in the running wheel and weight loss in the 48-h run were used to estimate fuels used and water expended. Two-thirds of the initial amount of fat and 9% of the protein were metabolized. The terminal mean percentage of body fat was about twice that observed in rats trapped in the spring of 1967, when seed production was low: death in the 48-h run could not have been due to depletion of body fat alone. The powerful activity drive seen in hungary kangaroo rats presumably is intensified in dry years when food is scarce and may deplete their reserves enough to result in death from starvation.

Scatter hoarding by kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami) and pilferage from their caches

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Daly ◽  
Lucia F. Jacobs ◽  
Margo I. Wilson ◽  
Philip R. Behrends
Keyword(s):  
Scatter Hoarding ◽  
Kangaroo Rats ◽  
Dipodomys Merriami

Aboveground Activity of Merriam's Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys Merriami) in Relation To Sex and Reproduction

Behaviour ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 96 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 210-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Behrends ◽  
Margo I. Wilson ◽  
Martin Daly
Keyword(s):  
Kangaroo Rats ◽  
Dipodomys Merriami ◽  
Merriam's Kangaroo Rats
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