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    Physiological responses of a rodent to heliox reveal constancy of evaporative water loss under perturbing environmental conditions

    Access Status
    Open access via publisher
    Authors
    Cooper, Christine
    Withers, P.
    Date
    2014
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
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    Citation
    Cooper, C. and Withers, P. 2014. Physiological responses of a rodent to heliox reveal constancy of evaporative water loss under perturbing environmental conditions. American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 307 (8): pp. R1042-R1048.
    Source Title
    American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology
    DOI
    10.1152/ajpregu.00051.2014
    ISSN
    15221490
    School
    Department of Environment and Agriculture
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25159
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Total evaporative water loss of endotherms is assumed to be determined essentially by biophysics, at least at temperatures below thermoneutrality, with evaporative water loss determined by the water vapor deficit between the animal and the ambient air. We present here evidence, based on the first measurements of evaporative water loss for a small mammal in heliox, that mammals may have a previously unappreciated ability to maintain acute constancy of total evaporative water loss under perturbing environmental conditions. Thermoregulatory responses of ash-grey mice (Pseudomys albocinereus) to heliox were as expected, with changes in metabolic rate, conductance, and respiratory ventilation consistent with maintaining constancy of body temperature under conditions of enhanced heat loss. However, evaporative water loss did not increase in heliox. This is despite our confirmation of the physical effect that heliox augments evaporation from nonliving surfaces, which should increase cutaneous water loss, and increases minute volume of live ash-grey mice in heliox to accommodate their elevated metabolic rate, which should increase respiratory water loss. Therefore, mice had not only a thermoregulatory but also a hygroregulatory response to heliox. We interpret these results as evidence that ash-grey mice can acutely control their evaporative water loss under perturbing environmental conditions and suggest that hygroregulation at and below thermoneutrality is an important aspect of the physiology of at least some small mammals.

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