Speed Sensing in a Harbour Seal
Many pinnipeds travel long distances between breeding and feeding grounds in some cases showing remarkable homing abilities (James & Dykes, 1978). Very little is known about the methods they use to plot their course but if they were aware of their rate of movement, this ability could conceivably...
Published in: | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1982
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400020257 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400020257 |
id |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0025315400020257 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0025315400020257 2024-03-03T08:45:09+00:00 Speed Sensing in a Harbour Seal Renouf, Deane Gaborko, Linda 1982 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400020257 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400020257 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 62, issue 1, page 227-228 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 Aquatic Science journal-article 1982 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400020257 2024-02-08T08:33:29Z Many pinnipeds travel long distances between breeding and feeding grounds in some cases showing remarkable homing abilities (James & Dykes, 1978). Very little is known about the methods they use to plot their course but if they were aware of their rate of movement, this ability could conceivably assist them. The following procedure which was undertaken with a captive male harbour seal (Phoca vitulina Linnaeus) demonstrated that the animal was able to determine his swimming speed. The seal was first trained to swim at any speed through ten hoops 48 cm in diameter submerged at equal intervals around the periphery of an 8 m oval tank filled with sea water to a depth of 1.2 m. Each trial consisted of one circuit of the tank, and always began at the same hoop. A screen preventing the seal from going through this start hoop was removed to indicate the onset of each trial. The seal was then trained to swim the 17 m course maintaining a speed of 6 km/h. The experimenter observed from a bridge suspended over the tank, and measured the animal's speed by listening to a series of tones. These tones were audible only to the experimenter and were timed such that if the seal were swimming at 6 km/h, he would reach each hoop at the same moment the experimenter heard the tone. A buzzer was sounded whenever the animal swam at less than the required speed, and a whistle was blown if he were moving too quickly. Article in Journal/Newspaper harbour seal Phoca vitulina Cambridge University Press Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 62 1 227 228 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Aquatic Science |
spellingShingle |
Aquatic Science Renouf, Deane Gaborko, Linda Speed Sensing in a Harbour Seal |
topic_facet |
Aquatic Science |
description |
Many pinnipeds travel long distances between breeding and feeding grounds in some cases showing remarkable homing abilities (James & Dykes, 1978). Very little is known about the methods they use to plot their course but if they were aware of their rate of movement, this ability could conceivably assist them. The following procedure which was undertaken with a captive male harbour seal (Phoca vitulina Linnaeus) demonstrated that the animal was able to determine his swimming speed. The seal was first trained to swim at any speed through ten hoops 48 cm in diameter submerged at equal intervals around the periphery of an 8 m oval tank filled with sea water to a depth of 1.2 m. Each trial consisted of one circuit of the tank, and always began at the same hoop. A screen preventing the seal from going through this start hoop was removed to indicate the onset of each trial. The seal was then trained to swim the 17 m course maintaining a speed of 6 km/h. The experimenter observed from a bridge suspended over the tank, and measured the animal's speed by listening to a series of tones. These tones were audible only to the experimenter and were timed such that if the seal were swimming at 6 km/h, he would reach each hoop at the same moment the experimenter heard the tone. A buzzer was sounded whenever the animal swam at less than the required speed, and a whistle was blown if he were moving too quickly. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Renouf, Deane Gaborko, Linda |
author_facet |
Renouf, Deane Gaborko, Linda |
author_sort |
Renouf, Deane |
title |
Speed Sensing in a Harbour Seal |
title_short |
Speed Sensing in a Harbour Seal |
title_full |
Speed Sensing in a Harbour Seal |
title_fullStr |
Speed Sensing in a Harbour Seal |
title_full_unstemmed |
Speed Sensing in a Harbour Seal |
title_sort |
speed sensing in a harbour seal |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1982 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400020257 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400020257 |
genre |
harbour seal Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
harbour seal Phoca vitulina |
op_source |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 62, issue 1, page 227-228 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400020257 |
container_title |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
container_volume |
62 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
227 |
op_container_end_page |
228 |
_version_ |
1792500688762175488 |