Metabolism and Body Temperature of Two Desert Canids: Coyotes and Kit Foxes

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Abstract
Oxygen consumption (V̇O2) and body temperature (Tb) of desert coyotes (Canis latrans) and kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis) were measured at ambient temperatures between —10° and +43°C. Measurement of V̇O2 established a thermal neutral zone between 22° and 26°C for coyotes, between 19° and 31°C for kit foxes in summer, and between 23° and 33°C for kit foxes in winter. Within the zone, metabolic rate for coyotes was 0.0015 watts per gram (W/g) or 79% of the predicted weight-specific basal metabolic rate; kit fox metabolic rate was 0.0034 W/g in summer and 0.0028 W/g in winter, or 117% and 97% of predicted, respectively. Kit foxes exhibited high thermal conductance, which varied seasonally. High thermal conductance in the kit fox is hypothesized as an adaptation for dissipating exercise heat loads by nonevaporative means. Kit foxes made minimal use of evaporative cooling for dissipation of metabolic heat. The Tb of both species was elevated at warm ambient temperatures.

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