Physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina)
The diving behaviour of 14 adult southern elephant seals was investigated using time depth recorders. Each of the seals performed some dives that were longer than its theoretical aerobic dive limit. Forty-four percent of all dives made by post-moult females exceeded the calculated limit compared wit...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Canadian Science Publishing
1992
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z92-055 2024-09-15T18:04:39+00:00 Physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina) Hindell, Mark A. Slip, David J. Burton, Harry R. Bryden, Michael M. 1992 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z92-055 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z92-055 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 70, issue 2, page 370-379 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 1992 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z92-055 2024-07-25T04:10:05Z The diving behaviour of 14 adult southern elephant seals was investigated using time depth recorders. Each of the seals performed some dives that were longer than its theoretical aerobic dive limit. Forty-four percent of all dives made by post-moult females exceeded the calculated limit compared with 7% of those made by postbreeding females and less than 1% of those made by adult males. The extended dives displayed characteristics that suggested that they were predominantly foraging dives, although some were apparently rest dives. Dives longer than the calculated aerobic limits often occurred in bouts; the longest consisted of 63 consecutive dives and lasted 2 days. Postmoult females performed longer bouts of extended dives than postbreeding females. Extended surface periods (longer than 30 min) were not related to the occurrence of extended dives or bouts of extended dives. The possible physiological mechanisms that permit such prolonged continuous dives are discussed. Southern elephant seals may increase the aerobic capacity of dives by lowering their metabolism to approximately 40% of the resting metabolic rate on long dives. There is substantial interseal variability in the methods used to cope with long dives. Some animals appear to use physiological strategies that allow them to prolong the time available to them at the bottom of a dive, while others use alternative strategies that may limit the time available at the bottom of their dives. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 70 2 370 379 |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
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English |
description |
The diving behaviour of 14 adult southern elephant seals was investigated using time depth recorders. Each of the seals performed some dives that were longer than its theoretical aerobic dive limit. Forty-four percent of all dives made by post-moult females exceeded the calculated limit compared with 7% of those made by postbreeding females and less than 1% of those made by adult males. The extended dives displayed characteristics that suggested that they were predominantly foraging dives, although some were apparently rest dives. Dives longer than the calculated aerobic limits often occurred in bouts; the longest consisted of 63 consecutive dives and lasted 2 days. Postmoult females performed longer bouts of extended dives than postbreeding females. Extended surface periods (longer than 30 min) were not related to the occurrence of extended dives or bouts of extended dives. The possible physiological mechanisms that permit such prolonged continuous dives are discussed. Southern elephant seals may increase the aerobic capacity of dives by lowering their metabolism to approximately 40% of the resting metabolic rate on long dives. There is substantial interseal variability in the methods used to cope with long dives. Some animals appear to use physiological strategies that allow them to prolong the time available to them at the bottom of a dive, while others use alternative strategies that may limit the time available at the bottom of their dives. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hindell, Mark A. Slip, David J. Burton, Harry R. Bryden, Michael M. |
spellingShingle |
Hindell, Mark A. Slip, David J. Burton, Harry R. Bryden, Michael M. Physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina) |
author_facet |
Hindell, Mark A. Slip, David J. Burton, Harry R. Bryden, Michael M. |
author_sort |
Hindell, Mark A. |
title |
Physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina) |
title_short |
Physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina) |
title_full |
Physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina) |
title_fullStr |
Physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina) |
title_sort |
physiological implications of continuous, prolonged, and deep dives of the southern elephant seal ( mirounga leonina) |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1992 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z92-055 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z92-055 |
genre |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 70, issue 2, page 370-379 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z92-055 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
70 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
370 |
op_container_end_page |
379 |
_version_ |
1810442268244443136 |