Seasonal Field Energetics of the Rufous Rat-Kangaroo (Aepyprymnus-Rufescens)

Abstract

Water flux and field metabolic rate (FMR) were measured by the doubly labelled water (DLW) method in free-living male and female rufous rat-kangaroos Aepyprymnus rufescens near Drake in northern New South Wales. The mean FMR of 499 kJ kg-1 day-1 was similar in winter and summer even though the difference in mean minimum temperatures between the two seasons was 20-degrees-C. Furthermore, we did not find any differences in FMR between males and females even though several females carried large pouch young or had young-at-foot. A poor understanding of the diet and the behavioural ecology of A. rufescens makes ft difficult to explain the similarities between sexes and seasons.