| Studies on water balance in desert-dwelling granivorous rodents use evaporative water loss (EWL) and metabolic water production (MWP) to evaluate the efficiency of water regulation, expressed by the model Ta @ MWP = EWL, defined by an ambient temperature (Ta) value at (@) which MWP/EWL = 1. Here we evaluate and apply this model (1 - r²) determining water regulation efficiency, based on the energetic cost (MR) to maintain water balance (WB), that is MR-WB. To test the model, EWL was measured and MWP estimated in nine species of rodents from different localities of northern and north-central Chile (II and IV Regions): Octodon degus (Od) and O. lunatus (Olu) (Octodontidae), Abrothrix olivaceus (Ao), A. longipilis (Al), A. andinus (Ad), Phyllotis darwini (Pd),... |
