Validating a novel capability of assessing pathways of animal water gain and loss.

Understanding variations in the routes by which wild animals gain and lose water is challenging, and common methods require longitudinal sampling, which can be prohibitive. However, a new approach uses Δ'(17)O(BW) (Δ'(17)O of animal body water), calculated from measurements of δ'(17)O and δ'(18)O in a single sample, as a natural tracer of water flux. Δ'(17)O(BW) is promising, but its relationship to organismal variables such as metabolic rate and water intake have not been validated. Here, we continuously measured oxygen influxes and effluxes of captive deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), and manipulated their water intake and metabolic rate. We used these oxygen flux data to predict Δ'(17)O(BW) for the mice and compared these model predictions with Δ'(17)O(BW) measured in blood plasma samples. As expected, Δ'(17)O(BW) positively correlated with drinking water intake and negatively correlated with metabolic rate. All predicted Δ'(17)O(BW) (based on measured oxygen fluxes) values differed from measured Δ'(17)O(BW) values by <30 per meg (mean absolute difference: 11 ± 9 per meg), suggesting high accuracy for this modelling approach because studies currently report a range of 300 per meg for Δ'(17)O(BW) among mammals, birds and fish.