Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal
Although energetics is fundamental to animal ecology, traditional methods of determining metabolic rate are neither direct nor instantaneous. Recently, continuous blood oxygen (O2) measurements were used to assess energy expenditure in diving elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), demonstrating t...
Published in: | PLoS ONE |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science
2013
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11879394 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083248 |
id |
ftharvardudash:oai:dash.harvard.edu:1/11879394 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftharvardudash:oai:dash.harvard.edu:1/11879394 2023-05-15T16:05:13+02:00 Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal Meir, Jessica U. Robinson, Patrick W. Vilchis, L. Ignacio Kooyman, Gerald L. Costa, Daniel P. Ponganis, Paul J. 2013 application/pdf http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11879394 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083248 en_US eng Public Library of Science doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083248 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871621/pdf/ PLoS ONE Meir, Jessica U., Patrick W. Robinson, L. Ignacio Vilchis, Gerald L. Kooyman, Daniel P. Costa, and Paul J. Ponganis. 2013. “Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal.” PLoS ONE 8 (12): e83248. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083248. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083248. 1932-6203 http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11879394 Biology Anatomy and Physiology Cardiovascular System Circulatory Physiology Physiological Processes Energy Metabolism Ecology Behavioral Ecology Ecophysiology Physiological Ecology Marine Biology Marine Ecology Zoology Animal Behavior Animal Physiology Mammalogy Journal Article 2013 ftharvardudash https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083248 2022-04-04T12:47:32Z Although energetics is fundamental to animal ecology, traditional methods of determining metabolic rate are neither direct nor instantaneous. Recently, continuous blood oxygen (O2) measurements were used to assess energy expenditure in diving elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), demonstrating that an exceptional hypoxemic tolerance and exquisite management of blood O2 stores underlie the extraordinary diving capability of this consummate diver. As the detailed relationship of energy expenditure and dive behavior remains unknown, we integrated behavior, ecology, and physiology to characterize the costs of different types of dives of elephant seals. Elephant seal dive profiles were analyzed and O2 utilization was classified according to dive type (overall function of dive: transit, foraging, food processing/rest). This is the first account linking behavior at this level with in vivo blood O2 measurements in an animal freely diving at sea, allowing us to assess patterns of O2 utilization and energy expenditure between various behaviors and activities in an animal in the wild. In routine dives of elephant seals, the blood O2 store was significantly depleted to a similar range irrespective of dive function, suggesting that all dive types have equal costs in terms of blood O2 depletion. Here, we present the first physiological evidence that all dive types have similarly high blood O2 demands, supporting an energy balance strategy achieved by devoting one major task to a given dive, thereby separating dive functions into distinct dive types. This strategy may optimize O2 store utilization and recovery, consequently maximizing time underwater and allowing these animals to take full advantage of their underwater resources. This approach may be important to optimizing energy expenditure throughout a dive bout or at-sea foraging trip and is well suited to the lifestyle of an elephant seal, which spends > 90% of its time at sea submerged making diving its most “natural” state. Version of Record Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Harvard University: DASH - Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard PLoS ONE 8 12 e83248 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Harvard University: DASH - Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard |
op_collection_id |
ftharvardudash |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology Anatomy and Physiology Cardiovascular System Circulatory Physiology Physiological Processes Energy Metabolism Ecology Behavioral Ecology Ecophysiology Physiological Ecology Marine Biology Marine Ecology Zoology Animal Behavior Animal Physiology Mammalogy |
spellingShingle |
Biology Anatomy and Physiology Cardiovascular System Circulatory Physiology Physiological Processes Energy Metabolism Ecology Behavioral Ecology Ecophysiology Physiological Ecology Marine Biology Marine Ecology Zoology Animal Behavior Animal Physiology Mammalogy Meir, Jessica U. Robinson, Patrick W. Vilchis, L. Ignacio Kooyman, Gerald L. Costa, Daniel P. Ponganis, Paul J. Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal |
topic_facet |
Biology Anatomy and Physiology Cardiovascular System Circulatory Physiology Physiological Processes Energy Metabolism Ecology Behavioral Ecology Ecophysiology Physiological Ecology Marine Biology Marine Ecology Zoology Animal Behavior Animal Physiology Mammalogy |
description |
Although energetics is fundamental to animal ecology, traditional methods of determining metabolic rate are neither direct nor instantaneous. Recently, continuous blood oxygen (O2) measurements were used to assess energy expenditure in diving elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), demonstrating that an exceptional hypoxemic tolerance and exquisite management of blood O2 stores underlie the extraordinary diving capability of this consummate diver. As the detailed relationship of energy expenditure and dive behavior remains unknown, we integrated behavior, ecology, and physiology to characterize the costs of different types of dives of elephant seals. Elephant seal dive profiles were analyzed and O2 utilization was classified according to dive type (overall function of dive: transit, foraging, food processing/rest). This is the first account linking behavior at this level with in vivo blood O2 measurements in an animal freely diving at sea, allowing us to assess patterns of O2 utilization and energy expenditure between various behaviors and activities in an animal in the wild. In routine dives of elephant seals, the blood O2 store was significantly depleted to a similar range irrespective of dive function, suggesting that all dive types have equal costs in terms of blood O2 depletion. Here, we present the first physiological evidence that all dive types have similarly high blood O2 demands, supporting an energy balance strategy achieved by devoting one major task to a given dive, thereby separating dive functions into distinct dive types. This strategy may optimize O2 store utilization and recovery, consequently maximizing time underwater and allowing these animals to take full advantage of their underwater resources. This approach may be important to optimizing energy expenditure throughout a dive bout or at-sea foraging trip and is well suited to the lifestyle of an elephant seal, which spends > 90% of its time at sea submerged making diving its most “natural” state. Version of Record |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Meir, Jessica U. Robinson, Patrick W. Vilchis, L. Ignacio Kooyman, Gerald L. Costa, Daniel P. Ponganis, Paul J. |
author_facet |
Meir, Jessica U. Robinson, Patrick W. Vilchis, L. Ignacio Kooyman, Gerald L. Costa, Daniel P. Ponganis, Paul J. |
author_sort |
Meir, Jessica U. |
title |
Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal |
title_short |
Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal |
title_full |
Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal |
title_fullStr |
Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal |
title_full_unstemmed |
Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal |
title_sort |
blood oxygen depletion is independent of dive function in a deep diving vertebrate, the northern elephant seal |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11879394 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083248 |
genre |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals |
op_relation |
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083248 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871621/pdf/ PLoS ONE Meir, Jessica U., Patrick W. Robinson, L. Ignacio Vilchis, Gerald L. Kooyman, Daniel P. Costa, and Paul J. Ponganis. 2013. “Blood Oxygen Depletion Is Independent of Dive Function in a Deep Diving Vertebrate, the Northern Elephant Seal.” PLoS ONE 8 (12): e83248. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083248. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083248. 1932-6203 http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11879394 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083248 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
e83248 |
_version_ |
1766401122567716864 |