Abstract
Abstract The doubly labeled water (DLW) method for the measurement of the field metabolic rate (FMR) of free-ranging vertebrates has limitations that are most evident when dealing with very small mammals, such as the nectarivorous marsupial honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus), that exhibit high metabolic rates and elevated rates of water turnover. We tested the efficacy of the radioisotope rubidium-86 (86Rb) as an alternative method for estimating FMR in this species in winter in Scott National Park in extreme southwestern Western Australia. We carried out a trial with 58 honey possums injected with a cocktail containing 86Rb, tritium, and oxygen-18 and correlated estimates of the FMR using the DLW method with repetitive measurements of the biological elimination rate constant (kb) of 86Rb. The 2 variables were significantly correlated and a linear regression explained 86% of the variation, which increased to 91% with a power curve fit to the data. Successive measurements of kb in individuals that were repe...
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