Advertisement
Journal Articles
The diving physiology of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). I. Balancing the demands of exercise for energy conservation at depth
T.M. Williams, J.E. Haun, W.A. Friedl
Journal of Experimental Biology 1999 202: 2739-2748;

Summary

During diving, marine mammals must rely on the efficient utilization of a limited oxygen reserve sequestered in the lungs, blood and muscles. To determine the effects of exercise and apnea on the use of these reserves, we examined the physiological responses of adult bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) trained to breath-hold on the water surface or to dive to submerged targets at depths between 60 and 210 m. Changes in blood lactate levels, in partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide and in heart rate were assessed while the dolphins performed sedentary breath-holds. The effects of exercise on breath-hold capacity were examined by measuring heart rate and post-dive respiration rate and blood lactate concentration for dolphins diving in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Ascent and descent rates, stroke frequency and swimming patterns were monitored during the dives. The results showed that lactate concentration was 1.1+/−0.1 mmol l(−1) at rest and increased non-linearly with the duration of the sedentary breath-hold or dive. Lactate concentration was consistently higher for the diving animals at all comparable periods of apnea. Breakpoints in plots of lactate concentration and blood gas levels against breath-hold duration (P(O2), P(CO2)) for sedentary breath-holding dolphins occurred between 200 and 240 s. In comparison, the calculated aerobic dive limit for adult dolphins was 268 s. Descent and ascent rates ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 m s(−1) during 210 m dives and were often outside the predicted range for swimming at low energetic cost. Rather than constant propulsion, diving dolphins used interrupted modes of swimming, with more than 75 % of the final ascent spent gliding. Physiological and behavioral measurements from this study indicate that superimposing swimming exercise on apnea was energetically costly for the diving dolphin but was circumvented in part by modifying the mode of swimming.

REFERENCES

    1. Au, D. and
    2. Weihs, D.
    (1980). At high speeds dolphins save energy by leaping. Nature 284, 548–.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Blake, R. W.
    (1983). Functional design and burst-and-coast swimming in fishes. Can. J. Zool 61, 2491–.
    OpenUrl
    1. Butler, P. J. and
    2. Jones, D. R.
    (1997). Physiology of diving of birds and mammals. Physiol. Rev 77, 837–.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Castellini, M. A.
    (1988). Visualizing metabolic transitions in aquatic mammals: does apnea plus swimming equal diving?. Can. J. Zool 66, 40–.
    OpenUrl
    1. Castellini, M. A.,
    2. Murphy, B. J.,
    3. Fedak, M.,
    4. Ronald, K.,
    5. Gofton, N. and
    6. Hochachka, P. W.
    (1985). Potentially conflicting metabolic demands of diving and exercise in seals. J. Appl. Physiol 58, 392–.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Culik, B. and
    2. Wilson, R. P.
    (1991). Swimming energetics and performance of instrumented Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae). J. Exp. Biol 158, 355–.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Dolphin, W. F.
    (1987). Dive behavior and estimated energy expenditure of foraging humpback whales in southeast Alaska. Can. J. Zool 65, 354–.
    OpenUrl
    1. Dunstone, N. and
    2. O'Connor, R. J.
    (1979). Optimal foraging in an2748amphibious mammal. I. The aqualung effect. Anim. Behav 27, 1182–.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Elsner, R.
    (1966). Diving bradycardia in the unrestrained hippopotamus. Nature 212, 408–.
    OpenUrlPubMed
    1. Elsner, R.,
    2. Kenney, D. W. and
    3. Burgess, K.
    (1966). Diving bradycardia in the trained dolphin. Nature 212, 407–.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
    1. Fedak, M. A.,
    2. Pullen, M. R. and
    3. Kanwisher, J.
    (1988). Circulatory responses of seals to periodic breathing: heart rate and breathing during exercise and diving in the laboratory and open sea. Can. J. Zool 66, 53–.
    OpenUrl
    1. Feldkamp, S. D.,
    2. DeLong, R. L. and
    3. Antonelis, G. A.
    (1989). Diving patterns of California sea lions, Zalophus californianus. Can. J. Zool 67, 872–.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Hill, R. D.,
    2. Schneider, R. C.,
    3. Liggins, G. C.,
    4. Schuette, A. H.,
    5. Elliott, R. L.,
    6. Guppy, M.,
    7. Hochachka, P. W.,
    8. Qvist, J.,
    9. Falke, K. J. and
    10. Zapol, W. M.
    (1987). Heart rate and body temperature during free diving of Weddell seals. Am. J. Physiol 22, 344–.
    OpenUrl
    1. Kooyman, G. L.,
    2. Castellini, M. A.,
    3. Davis, R. W. and
    4. Maue, R. A.
    (1983). Aerobic dive limits in immature Weddell seals. J. Comp. Physiol 151, 171–.
    OpenUrl
    1. Kooyman, G. L. and
    2. Ponganis, P. J.
    (1998). The physiological basis of diving to depth: Birds and mammals. Annu. Rev. Physiol 60, 19–.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    1. Kramer, D. L.
    (1988). The behavioral ecology of air breathing by aquatic animals. Can. J. Zool 66, 89–.
    OpenUrl
    1. Martin, A. R.,
    2. Kingsley, M. C. S. and
    3. Ramsay, M. A.
    (1994). Diving behavior of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) on their summer grounds. Can. J. Zool 72, 118–.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Ridgway, S. H.,
    2. Carder, D. A. and
    3. Clark, W.
    (1975). Conditioned bradycardia in the sea lion Zalophus californianus. Nature 256, 37–.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
    1. Ridgway, S. H.,
    2. Scronce, B. L. and
    3. Kanwisher, J.
    (1969). Respiration and deep diving in the bottlenose porpoise. Science 166, 1651–.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Seeherman, H. J.,
    2. Taylor, C. R.,
    3. Maloiy, G. M. O. and
    4. Armstrong, R. B.
    (1981). Design of the mammalian respiratory system. II. Measuring maximum aerobic capacity. Respir. Physiol 44, 11–.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    1. Shaffer, S. A.,
    2. Costa, D. P.,
    3. Williams, T. M. and
    4. Ridgway, S. H.
    (1997). Diving and swimming performance of white whales, Delphinapterus leucas: an assessment of plasma lactate and blood gas levels and respiratory rates. J. Exp. Biol 200, 3091–.
    OpenUrlAbstract
    1. Skrovan, R. C.,
    2. Williams, T. M.,
    3. Berry, P. S.,
    4. Moore, P. W. and
    5. Davis, R. W.
    (1999). The diving physiology of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). II. Biomechanics and changes in buoyancy at depth. J. Exp. Biol 202, 2749–.
    OpenUrlAbstract
    1. Thompson, D. and
    2. Fedak, M. A.
    (1993). Cardiac responses of grey seals during diving at sea. J. Exp. Biol 174, 139–.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Videler, J. J. and
    2. Weihs, D.
    (1982). Energetic advantages of burst-and-coast swimming of fish at high speeds. J. Exp. Biol 97, 169–.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Webb, P. M.,
    2. Crocker, D. E.,
    3. Blackwell, S. B.,
    4. Costa, D. P. and
    5. Le Boeuf, B. J.
    (1998). Effects of buoyancy on the diving behavior of northern elephant seals. J. Exp. Biol 201, 2349–.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Weihs, D.
    (1974). Energetic advantages of burst swimming of fish. J. Theor. Biol 48, 215–.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    1. Williams, T. M.,
    2. Friedl, W. A.,
    3. Fong, M. L.,
    4. Yamada, R. M.,
    5. Sedivy, P. and
    6. Haun, J. E.
    (1992). Travel at low energetic cost by swimming and wave-riding bottlenose dolphins. Nature 355, 821–.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
    1. Williams, T. M.,
    2. Friedl, W. A. and
    3. Haun, J. E.
    (1993). The physiology of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): heart rate, metabolic rate and plasma lactate concentration during exercise. J. Exp. Biol 179, 31–.
    OpenUrlAbstract
    1. Wursig, B.
    (1978). Occurrence and group organization of Atlantic bottlenose porpoises (Tursiops truncatus) in an Argentine bay. Biol. Bull 154, 349–.
    OpenUrl
Back to top

 Download PDF

Email
Journal Articles
The diving physiology of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). I. Balancing the demands of exercise for energy conservation at depth
T.M. Williams, J.E. Haun, W.A. Friedl
Journal of Experimental Biology 1999 202: 2739-2748;
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Alerts

Article navigation

Other journals from The Company of Biologists

Advertisement

Welcome to JEB’s new Editor Monica Daley

We are pleased to welcome Monica Daley to JEB’s Editorial team. Monica has had a long association with JEB before taking up her new role, overseeing peer review of neuromuscular physiology, terrestrial biomechanics and integrative physiology of locomotion.

In the field with Robyn Hetem

Continuing our fieldwork series, Robyn Hetem reflects on working with species ranging from aardvark to zebra, and the impact COVID-19 has had on fieldwork.

Read & Publish participation continues to grow

“It is particularly encouraging for early career researchers, as it allows them to display their research globally without the need to find costs to cover the open access option.”

Professor Fernando Montealegre-Z (University of Lincoln) shares his experience of publishing Open Access as part of our growing Read & Publish initiative. We now have over 150 institutions in 15 countries and four library consortia taking part – find out more and view our full list of participating institutions.

Nocturnal reef residents have deep-sea-like eyes

Fanny de Busserolles and colleagues from The University of Queensland have discovered that the eyes of nocturnal reef fish have multibank retinas, layers of photoreceptors, similar to the eyes of deep-sea fish that live in dim light conditions.

Mechanisms underlying gut microbiota–host interactions in insects

In their Review, Konstantin Schmidt and Philipp Engel summarise recent findings about the mechanisms involved in gut colonisation and the provisioning of beneficial effects in gut microbiota–insect symbiosis.