Comparative water metabolism of Barrow Island macropodid marsupials: Hormonal versus behavioural-dependent mechanisms of body water conservation

Abstract

Seasonal variations in rates of water turnover were measured over a 7-year period in four species of macropodid marsupials ( Lagorchestes conspicillatus, Bettongia lesueur, Petrogale lateralis and Macropus robustus isabellinus), on Barrow Island off the arid Pilbara coast of Western Australia. These ranged from over 100 mL kg −0.82 d −1 in wet seasons to as low as 28.2 mL kg −0.82 d −1 in dry seasons in the Spectacled hare wallaby, L. conspicillatus. Plasma osmolality increased significantly in both Barrow Island euros ( M. robustus isabellinus) and Spectacled hare wallabies in November 1994, in the driest year yet recorded on the island. In contrast, there was no change in plasma osmolality of the other two species (Black-footed rock wallaby, P. lateralis and Lesueur’s burrowing bettong, B. lesueur) that exploit cool and humid thermal refugia such as caves and underground warrens to avoid diurnal temperature extremes. Plasma levels of the marsupial antidiuretic hormone (ADH), lysine vasopressin (LVP), were for the most part below the detectable limit of the assay of 0.41 pg mL −1 in rock wallabies and bettongs, but reached high levels of 16.7 ± 4.6 pg mL −1 and 20.25 ± 5.1 pg mL −1 in euros and hare wallabies, respectively, in dry seasons. LVP levels were positively correlated with plasma osmolality in both euros and hare wallabies, and negatively correlated with total body water content in euros, supporting its rôle as an antidiuretic hormone in these two species. The study highlights the importance of environmental features, such as caves and underground warrens, which are critical for the long-term survival of endangered species such as the Black-footed rock wallaby and the Lesueur’s bettong. These species appear to lack ADH-controlled renal systems for the conservation of body water and are thus dependent on behavioural strategies for the maintenance of fluid homeostasis in arid environments.