Individual variation in metabolic traits of wild nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), and the aerobic capacity model for the evolution of endothermy.

Abstract

A fundamental assumption of the aerobic capacity model for the evolution of endothermy is that basal (BMR) and peak (PMR) metabolic rates are functionally linked at the intraspecific level. The purpose of this study was to use the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus as a model to test this assumption. Measurements of BMR, PMR, mass and rectal temperature were obtained over two summers from wild, adult individuals from a population in Louisiana, USA. BMR and PMR were positively correlated (r=0.62), and both were significantly higher (by 46% for BMR and by 35% for PMR) in 1999 than in 1998. Similar results were obtained whether metabolic rates were expressed in whole-animal or mass-independent units. These results suggest the existence of a functional link between BMR and PMR and are therefore consistent with the aerobic capacity model. In addition, this study confirmed that, compared with most eutherian mammals, the nine-banded armadillo exhibits low and highly variable basal and peak metabolic rates (20-60% the predicted values; 23% and 27% coefficients of variation) and rectal temperatures (range 32.7-35.3 degrees C). Such metabolic traits are, however, consistent with the general pattern previously observed for other members of the order Xenarthra and with the hypothesis that low metabolic rates in armored mammals evolved as a result of unbalanced selection in which, because of low predation risks, selection for a high aerobic capacity was much weaker than the opposing selection for energy conservation.