Role of urea in the postprandial urine concentration cycle of the insectivorous bat Antrozous pallidus

Abstract

Insectivorous bats, which feed once daily, produce maximally concentrated urine only after feeding. The role of urea as an osmolyte in this process was investigated in pallid bats ( Antrozous pallidus) in the laboratory. Following a 24-h fast, plasma and urine were sampled before and 2 h after feeding in postprandial (PP) animals and before and 2 h after similar treatment without feeding in nonfed (NF) animals. Food consumption by PP animals and handling of NF animals had no effect on blood water content as measured by hematocrit and plasma oncotic pressure. Food consumption increased both plasma osmolality ( P osm) and plasma urea ( P urea) by as much as 15%. Food consumption also increased urine osmolality ( U osm) and urine urea ( U urea) by 50–100%. Feeding increased U osm regardless of changes in P osm, and elevation of U osm resulted primarily from increased U urea. In NF bats, P osm and P urea were unchanged, while U osm and U urea increased by as much as 25%. Again, increased U osm resulted primarily from increased U urea. The PP urine concentration cycle of pallid bats resulted from increased urea excretion in response to apparent rapid urea synthesis. Bats rapidly metabolized protein and excreted urea following feeding when body water was most plentiful.