|
| |
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
First published online October 7, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 3917-3926 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01232
Heart rate and energetics of free-ranging king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus)
1 School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham,
B15 2TT, UK
2 Centre d'Écologie et Physiologie Énergétiques, Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg
cedex, France
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: P.J.Butler{at}bham.ac.uk)
Accepted 9 August 2004
The main objective of this study was to determine heart rate (fH) and the energetic costs of specific behaviours of king penguins while ashore and while foraging at sea during their breeding period. In particular, an estimate was made of the energetic cost of diving in order to determine the proportion of dives that may exceed the calculated aerobic dive limit (cADL; estimated usable O2 stores/estimated rate of oxygen consumption during diving).
An implanted data logger enabled fH and diving
behaviour to be monitored from 10 free-ranging king penguins during their
breeding period. Using previously determined calibration equations, it was
possible to estimate rate of oxygen consumption
(
O2) when the
birds were ashore and during various phases of their foraging trips. Diving
behaviour showed a clear diurnal pattern, with a mixture of deep (>40 m),
long (>3 min) and shallow (<40 m), short (<3 min) dives from dawn to
dusk and shallow, short dives at night. Heart rate during dive bouts and dive
cycles (dive + post-dive interval) was 42% greater than that when the birds
were ashore. During diving, fH was similar to the `ashore'
value (87±4 beats min–1), but it did decline to 76% of
the value recorded from king penguins resting in water. During the first hour
after a diving bout, fH was significantly higher than the
average value during diving (101±4 beats min–1) and
for the remainder of the dive bout.
Rates of oxygen consumption estimated from these (and other) values of
fH indicate that when at sea, metabolic rate (MR) was 83%
greater than that when the birds were ashore [3.15 W kg–1
(–0.71, +0.93), where the values in parentheses are the computed
standard errors of the estimate], while during diving bouts and dive cycles,
it was 73% greater than the `ashore' value. Although estimated MR during the
total period between dive bouts was not significantly different from that
during dive bouts [5.44 W kg–1 (–0.30, +0.32)], MR
during the first hour following a dive bout was 52% greater than that during a
diving bout. It is suggested that this large increase following diving
(foraging) activity is, at least in part, the result of rewarming the body,
which occurs at the end of a diving bout. From the measured behaviour and
estimated values of
O2, it was
evident that approximately 35% of the dives were in excess of the cADL. Even
if O2 during
diving was assumed to be the same as when the birds were resting on water,
approximately 20% of dives would exceed the cADL. As
O2 during diving
is, in fact, that estimated for a complete dive cycle, it is quite feasible
that O2 during
diving itself is less than that measured for birds resting in water. It is
suggested that the regional hypothermia that has been recorded in this species
during diving bouts may be at least a contributing factor to such
hypometabolism.
Key words: diving metabolism, foraging, heart rate, aerobic dive limit, king penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus, seabird
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati 
Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  F. Angelier, M. Giraudeau, C.-A. Bost, F. Le Bouard, and O. Chastel Are stress hormone levels a good proxy of foraging success? An experiment with King Penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2009; 212(17): 2824 - 2829. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. J. Ponganis, T. K. Stockard, J. U. Meir, C. L. Williams, K. V. Ponganis, and R. Howard O2 store management in diving emperor penguins J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2009; 212(2): 217 - 224. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Rey, L. G. Halsey, V. Dolmazon, J.-L. Rouanet, D. Roussel, Y. Handrich, P. J. Butler, and C. Duchamp Long-term fasting decreases mitochondrial avian UCP-mediated oxygen consumption in hypometabolic king penguins Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, July 1, 2008; 295(1): R92 - R100. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. U. Meir, T. K. Stockard, C. L. Williams, K. V. Ponganis, and P. J. Ponganis Heart rate regulation and extreme bradycardia in diving emperor penguins J. Exp. Biol., April 15, 2008; 211(8): 1169 - 1179. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J.R Lovvorn Thermal substitution and aerobic efficiency: measuring and predicting effects of heat balance on endotherm diving energetics Phil Trans R Soc B, November 29, 2007; 362(1487): 2079 - 2093. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Fahlman, A. Schmidt, D. R. Jones, B. L. Bostrom, and Y. Handrich To what extent might N2 limit dive performance in king penguins? J. Exp. Biol., October 1, 2007; 210(19): 3344 - 3355. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. Arnold, T. Ruf, and R. Kuntz Seasonal adjustment of energy budget in a large wild mammal, the Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) II. Energy expenditure J. Exp. Biol., November 15, 2006; 209(22): 4566 - 4573. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Schmidt, F. Alard, and Y. Handrich Changes in body temperatures in king penguins at sea: the result of fine adjustments in peripheral heat loss? Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, September 1, 2006; 291(3): R608 - R618. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. R. Enstipp, D. Gremillet, and D. R. Jones The effects of depth, temperature and food ingestion on the foraging energetics of a diving endotherm, the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) J. Exp. Biol., March 1, 2006; 209(5): 845 - 859. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Fahlman, A. Schmidt, Y. Handrich, A. J. Woakes, and P. J. Butler Metabolism and thermoregulation during fasting in king penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus, in air and water Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, September 1, 2005; 289(3): R670 - R679. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
