Measuring marine mammal energetics is a key component for resource management assessments. For example, with a good measure of the variability within a population, the quantity or quality of food needed for sustaining a viable population can be modeled. Metabolic means by which an animal exploits or is constrained by its environment can be elucidated with lab to field respirometry. But the elemental marine environment presents unique logistical challenges to the researcher.

Important System Considerations

  • High resolution MR and RQ
  • Rugged compact design for field use
  • Water resistant, long battery life
  • High flow range from 100 to 1800 L/min
  • Directly measured water vapor pressure

Sable Solutions

FMS Field Metabolic System

The FMS is a fully integrated respirometry system about the size of a shoebox. The FMS combines O 2 , CO 2, and H 2 O analysis with data acquisition and subsample ... (more)

FoxBox Respirometry System

The Foxbox is a field portable combined oxygen and carbon dioxide analysis instrument including a variable pump and mass flow meter integrated into a compact, dustproof, waterproof case. Equally at home in ... (more)

Contact Us

Our systems are highly customizable for a broad range of applications. Let us help configure a system to meet your specific research needs.

Relevant Publications

Dassis, M., Rodríguez, D. H., Ieno, E. N., Denuncio, P. E., Loureiro, J., & Davis, R. W. (2014). Resting metabolic rate and heat increment of feeding in juvenile South American fur seals (< i> Arctocephalus australis</i>). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 168, 63-68.

Gerlinsky, C. D., Trites, A. W., & Rosen, D. A. (2014). Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) have greater blood volumes, higher diving metabolic rates and a longer aerobic dive limit when nutritionally stressed. The Journal of experimental biology, 217(5), 769-778.

Holt, M. M., Dunkin, R. C., Noren, D., & Williams, T. M. (2013, June). Are there metabolic costs of vocal responses to noise in marine mammals?. In Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (Vol. 19, No. 1, p. 010060). Acoustical Society of America.

Hoopes, L. A., Rea, L. D., Christ, A., & Worthy, G. A. (2014). No Evidence of Metabolic Depression in Western Alaskan Juvenile Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus). PloS one, 9(1), e85339.

Noren, D. P., Holt, M. M., Dunkin, R. C., & Williams, T. M. (2013). The metabolic cost of communicative sound production in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The Journal of experimental biology, 216(9), 1624-1629.

Rechsteiner, E. U., Rosen, D. A., & Trites, A. W. (2013). Seasonal resting metabolic rate and food intake of captive Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens). Aquatic Mammals, 39(3), 241-252.

Rosen, D. A., & Trites, A. W. (2013). Thermal limits in young northern fur seals, Callorhinus ursinus. Marine Mammal Science.

Thometz, N. M., Tinker, M. T., Staedler, M. M., Mayer, K. A., & Williams, T. M. (2014). Energetic demands of immature sea otters from birth to weaning: implications for maternal costs, reproductive behavior and population-level trends. The Journal of experimental biology, 217(12), 2053-2061.

Worthy, G. A., Worthy, T. A., Yochem, P. K., & Dold, C. (2013). Basal metabolism of an adult male killer whale (Orcinus orca). Marine Mammal Science.