MUSCLE TEMPERATURE AND SWIM VELOCITY PROFILES DURING DIVING IN A WEDDELL SEAL, LEPTONYCHOTES WEDDELLII

• Main Authors: P. J. Ponganis, G. L. Kooyman, M. A. Castellini, E. P. Ponganisand, K. V. Ponganis
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1993
• Subjects: Weddell; Weddell Seal
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.583.7189; http://jeb.biologists.org/content/183/1/341.full.pdf

Locomotory muscle temperature and swim velocity profiles of an adult Weddell seal were recorded over a 21h period. The highest temperatures occurred during a prolonged surface period (mean 37.3˚C, S.D. 0.16˚C). Muscle temperature averaged 36.8 and 36.6˚C (S.D. 0.25˚C, 0.19˚C) during two dive bouts and showed no consistent fl uctuations between dive and interdive surface intervals. Swim velocities were also constant, near 1.3ms21. These data indicate that past records of low aortic temperatures (35˚C) during and after prolonged dives are not indicative of whole-body temperature changes, and that muscle temperature, even during dives as long as 45min, remains near 37˚C.