Heart rate and energy expenditure in resting and running Svalbard and Norwegian reindeer

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a convenient relationship could be found between heart rate (HR) and energy expenditure at rest and during running in the high arctic Svalbard reindeer (SR) and the subarctic Norwegian reindeer (NR). Measurements of HR and energy expenditure (O2 consumption) were made at different ambient temperatures, at rest, and during running at different speeds during both summer and winter. Cost of transportation (Science 177: 222-228, 1972) was 3.56 and 2.67 J X g-1 X km-1 in SR and NR, respectively. The y-intercept value obtained for NR was close to the predicted value (J. Exp. Biol. 97: 1-22, 1982), whereas that of SR was much lower. In NR the relationship between HR and energy expenditure at running speeds from 0 to 9.2 km X h-1 is, regardless of ambient temperature (in the -30 to +10 degrees C range), described by the following equations: y = 8.04x + 48.70, r = 0.92, n = 27 (summer); and y = 7.48x + 31.20, r = 0.95, n = 52 (winter). In SR, the corresponding equations were y = 7.60x + 49.20, r = 0.94, n = 29 (summer); and y = 8.90x + 32.10, r = 0.96, n = 44 (winter), where y is HR (beats X min-1) and x is metabolic rate (W X kg-1).