Measuring Animal Energetics via Treadmill

Data previously gathered comparing with acceleration data for animals during activity on a treadmill at Buenos Aires Zoo [12] were reanalyzed to supplement the work on humans. Species used were; coypu (Myocastor coypus) (4 individuals), larger hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus) (1 individual), Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) (1 individual), greylag goose (Anser anser) (2 individuals), Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) (2 individuals) and rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome) (1 individual). Briefly, animals were equipped with acceleration data loggers, attached variously, before being exposed to a treadmill with the tread moving at a range of speeds between 0 and 2.52 km/h, the upper limit dependent on their capacities. The animals were given rests between the higher speeds where the predominant behavior was locomotion however at the lower speeds the animal typically exhibited a range of behaviors including searching, scratching and lying. An open circuitry respirometry system was used to measure . Full details of the protocol are given in Halsey et al. [12] .