[Water and energy metabolism in representatives of the genus Martes and Mustela (Mammalia: Mustelidae)].

: The quantities of consumed food and water, quantity and moisture content of faeces, as well as quantity and concentration of excreted urine were determined in representatives of Martes--marten (M. martes) and sable (M. zibellina)--as well as in polecat (Mustela putorius). Under the same cage conditions and free access to food, all three species had similar energy value of the daily diet. However, the level of drinking water consumption and the ratio between the quantities of arriving water and energy was reliably higher in both Martes species than in polecat. In addition, both marten and sable featured a much higher rate of evaporation loss in the overall water balance and, consequently, a higher quantity of heat dissipated with evaporation as compared to polecat. Comparison of the obtained and previous data (Sokolov et al., 1995; Rozhnov, 1991) allowed us to propose that the mentioned differences can be specific for representatives of Martes and Mustela genera irrespective of ecological specialization of particular species.