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Burggren W, Fahlman A, Milsom W. Breathing patterns and associated cardiovascular changes in intermittently breathing animals: (Partially) correcting a semantic quagmire. Exp Physiol 2024. [PMID: 38502538 DOI: 10.1113/ep091784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Many animal species do not breathe in a continuous, rhythmic fashion, but rather display a variety of breathing patterns characterized by prolonged periods between breaths (inter-breath intervals), during which the heart continues to beat. Examples of intermittent breathing abound across the animal kingdom, from crustaceans to cetaceans. With respect to human physiology, intermittent breathing-also termed 'periodic' or 'episodic' breathing-is associated with a variety of pathologies. Cardiovascular phenomena associated with intermittent breathing in diving species have been termed 'diving bradycardia', 'submersion bradycardia', 'immersion bradycardia', 'ventilation tachycardia', 'respiratory sinus arrhythmia' and so forth. An examination across the literature of terminology applied to these physiological phenomena indicates, unfortunately, no attempt at standardization. This might be viewed as an esoteric semantic problem except for the fact that many of the terms variously used by different authors carry with them implicit or explicit suggestions of underlying physiological mechanisms and even human-associated pathologies. In this article, we review several phenomena associated with diving and intermittent breathing, indicate the semantic issues arising from the use of each term, and make recommendations for best practice when applying specific terms to particular cardiorespiratory patterns. Ultimately, we emphasize that the biology-not the semantics-is what is important, but also stress that confusion surrounding underlying mechanisms can be avoided by more careful attention to terms describing physiological changes during intermittent breathing and diving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Warren Burggren
- Developmental Integrative Biology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic, Valencia, Spain
- Kolmården Wildlife Park, Kolmården, Sweden
- IFM, Linkoping University, Linkoping, Sweden
| | - William Milsom
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Fahlman A. Cardiorespiratory adaptations in small cetaceans and marine mammals. Exp Physiol 2024; 109:324-334. [PMID: 37968859 PMCID: PMC10988691 DOI: 10.1113/ep091095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
The dive response, or the 'master switch of life', is probably the most studied physiological trait in marine mammals and is thought to conserve the available O2 for the heart and brain. Although generally thought to be an autonomic reflex, several studies indicate that the cardiovascular changes during diving are anticipatory and can be conditioned. The respiratory adaptations, where the aquatic breathing pattern resembles intermittent breathing in land mammals, with expiratory flow exceeding 160 litres s-1 has been measured in cetaceans, and where exposure to extreme pressures results in alveolar collapse (atelectasis) and recruitment upon ascent. Cardiorespiratory coupling, where breathing results in changes in heart rate, has been proposed to improve gas exchange. Cardiorespiratory coupling has also been reported in marine mammals, and in the bottlenose dolphin, where it alters both heart rate and stroke volume. When accounting for this respiratory dependence on cardiac function, several studies have reported an absence of a diving-related bradycardia except during dives that exceed the duration that is fuelled by aerobic metabolism. This review summarizes what is known about the respiratory physiology in marine mammals, with a special focus on cetaceans. The cardiorespiratory coupling is reviewed, and the selective gas exchange hypothesis is summarized, which provides a testable mechanism for how breath-hold diving vertebrates may actively prevent uptake of N2 during routine dives, and how stress results in failure of this mechanism, which results in diving-related gas emboli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Global Diving Research SLValenciaSpain
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad ValencianaValenciaSpain
- Kolmården Wildlife ParkKolmårdenSweden
- IFMLinköping UniversityLinköpingSweden
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Fahlman A, Mcknight JC, Blawas AM, West N, Torrente AG, Aoki K. Cardiorespiratory coupling in the bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus). Front Physiol 2023; 14:1234432. [PMID: 37811493 PMCID: PMC10558176 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1234432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is an intermittent breather, where the breath begins with an exhalation followed by inhalation and an extended inter-breath interval ranging from 10 to 40 s. Breathing has been shown to alter both the instantaneous heart rate (if H) and stroke volume (iSV) in the bottlenose dolphin, with a transitory ventilatory tachycardia following the breath, and an exponential decrease to a stable if H around 40 beats • min-1 during the inter-breath period. As the total breath duration in the dolphin is around 1 s, it is not possible to assess the contribution of exhalation and inhalation to these changes in cardiac function during normal breathing. Methods: In the current study, we evaluated the if H response by separating expiration and inspiration of a breath, which allowed us to distinguish their respective contribution to the changes in if H. We studied 3 individual male bottlenose dolphins trained to hold their breath between the different respiratory phases (expiration and inhalation). Results: Our data show that inspiration causes an increase in if H, while expiration appears to result in a decrease in if H. Discussion: These data provide improved understanding of the cardiorespiratory coupling in dolphins, and show how both exhalation and inhalation alters if H.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia 19, Valencia, Spain
- Kolmården Wildlife Park, Kolmården, Sweden
- Global Diving Research SL, Valencia, Spain
| | | | - A. M. Blawas
- Duke University Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment Duke University, Beaufort, NC, United States
| | - N. West
- Dolphin Quest, Kahala Resort, Waikoloa, HI, United States
| | - A. G. Torrente
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, France
| | - K. Aoki
- Department of Marine Bioscience, Atmosphere and OceanResearch Institute, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
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Garcia-Parraga D, Crespo-Picazo JL, Sterba-Boatwright B, Marco V, Muñoz-Baquero M, Robinson NJ, Stacy B, Fahlman A. New insights into risk variables associated with gas embolism in loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta) caught in trawls and gillnets. Conserv Physiol 2023; 11:coad048. [PMID: 37425482 PMCID: PMC10326834 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coad048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Tissue and blood gas embolism (GE) associated with fisheries bycatch are likely a widespread, yet underestimated, cause of sea turtle mortality. Here, we evaluated risk factors associated with tissue and blood GE in loggerhead turtles caught incidentally by trawl and gillnet fisheries on the Valencian coastline of Spain. Of 413 turtles (303 caught by trawl, 110 by gillnet fisheries), 54% (n = 222) exhibited GE. For sea turtles caught in trawls, the probability and severity of GE increased with trawl depth and turtle body mass. In addition, trawl depth and the GE score together explained the probability of mortality (P[mortality]) following recompression therapy. Specifically, a turtle with a GE score of 3 caught in a trawl deployed at 110 m had a P[mortality] of ~50%. For turtles caught in gillnets, no risk variables were significantly correlated with either the P[GE] or GE score. However, gillnet depth or GE score, separately, explained P[mortality], and a turtle caught at 45 m or with a GE score between 3 and 4 had a P[mortality] of 50%. Differences in the fishery characteristics precluded direct comparison of GE risk and mortality between these gear types. Although P[mortality] is expected to be significantly higher in untreated turtles released at sea, our findings can improve estimates of sea turtle mortality associated with trawls and gillnets, and help guide associate conservation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Garcia-Parraga
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Jose Luis Crespo-Picazo
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Vicente Marco
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Marta Muñoz-Baquero
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Nathan J Robinson
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
- Institut de Ciències del Mar, Spanish National Research Council - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Brian Stacy
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, University of Florida (Duty Station), PO Box 110885, 2187 Mowry Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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Ruesch A, Acharya D, Bulger E, Cao J, Christopher McKnight J, Manley M, Fahlman A, Shinn-Cunningham BG, Kainerstorfer JM. Evaluating feasibility of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in dolphins. J Biomed Opt 2023; 28:075001. [PMID: 37457628 PMCID: PMC10344469 DOI: 10.1117/1.jbo.28.7.075001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Significance Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) could help to understand how echolocating animals perceive their environment and how they focus on specific auditory objects, such as fish, in noisy marine settings. Aim To test the feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in medium-sized marine mammals, such as dolphins, we modeled the light propagation with computational tools to determine the wavelengths, optode locations, and separation distances that maximize sensitivity to brain tissue. Approach Using frequency-domain NIRS, we measured the absorption and reduced scattering coefficient of dolphin sculp. We assigned muscle, bone, and brain optical properties from the literature and modeled light propagation in a spatially accurate and biologically relevant model of a dolphin head, using finite-element modeling. We assessed tissue sensitivities for a range of wavelengths (600 to 1700 nm), source-detector distances (50 to 120 mm), and animal sizes (juvenile model 25% smaller than adult). Results We found that the wavelengths most suitable for imaging the brain fell into two ranges: 700 to 900 nm and 1100 to 1150 nm. The optimal location for brain sensing positioned the center point between source and detector 30 to 50 mm caudal of the blowhole and at an angle 45 deg to 90 deg lateral off the midsagittal plane. Brain tissue sensitivity comparable to human measurements appears achievable only for smaller animals, such as juvenile bottlenose dolphins or smaller species of cetaceans, such as porpoises, or with source-detector separations ≫100 mm in adult dolphins. Conclusions Brain measurements in juvenile or subadult dolphins, or smaller dolphin species, may be possible using specialized fNIRS devices that support optode separations of >100 mm. We speculate that many measurement repetitions will be required to overcome hemodynamic signals originating predominantly from the muscle layer above the skull. NIRS measurements of muscle tissue are feasible today with source-detector separations of 50 mm, or even less.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Ruesch
- Carnegie Mellon University, Neuroscience Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Deepshikha Acharya
- Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Eli Bulger
- Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Jiaming Cao
- Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | | | - Mercy Manley
- Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, The Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
- Global Diving Research SL., Valencia, Spain
- Kolmården Wildlife Park, Kolmården, Sweden
| | - Barbara G. Shinn-Cunningham
- Carnegie Mellon University, Neuroscience Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Jana M. Kainerstorfer
- Carnegie Mellon University, Neuroscience Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
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He RS, De Ruiter S, Westover T, Somarelli JA, Blawas AM, Dayanidhi DL, Singh A, Steves B, Driesinga S, Halsey LG, Fahlman A. Allometric scaling of metabolic rate and cardiorespiratory variables in aquatic and terrestrial mammals. Physiol Rep 2023; 11:e15698. [PMID: 37271741 PMCID: PMC10239733 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.15698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
While basal metabolic rate (BMR) scales proportionally with body mass (Mb ), it remains unclear whether the relationship differs between mammals from aquatic and terrestrial habitats. We hypothesized that differences in BMR allometry would be reflected in similar differences in scaling of O2 delivery pathways through the cardiorespiratory system. We performed a comparative analysis of BMR across 63 mammalian species (20 aquatic, 43 terrestrial) with a Mb range from 10 kg to 5318 kg. Our results revealed elevated BMRs in small (>10 kg and <100 kg) aquatic mammals compared to small terrestrial mammals. The results demonstrated that minute ventilation, that is, tidal volume (VT )·breathing frequency (fR ), as well as cardiac output, that is, stroke volume·heart rate, do not differ between the two habitats. We found that the "aquatic breathing strategy", characterized by higher VT and lower fR resulting in a more effective gas exchange, and by elevated blood hemoglobin concentrations resulting in a higher volume of O2 for the same volume of blood, supported elevated metabolic requirements in aquatic mammals. The results from this study provide a possible explanation of how differences in gas exchange may serve energy demands in aquatic versus terrestrial mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca S. He
- Duke University Marine LaboratoryNicholas School of the EnvironmentBeaufortNorth CarolinaUSA
- Department of BiologyDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Stacy De Ruiter
- Department of Mathematics and StatisticsCalvin UniversityGrand RapidsMichiganUSA
| | - Tristan Westover
- Duke University Marine LaboratoryNicholas School of the EnvironmentBeaufortNorth CarolinaUSA
- Department of BiologyDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Jason A. Somarelli
- Department of MedicineDuke University Medical CenterDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Ashley M. Blawas
- Duke University Marine LaboratoryNicholas School of the EnvironmentBeaufortNorth CarolinaUSA
- Department of MedicineDuke University Medical CenterDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Divya L. Dayanidhi
- Department of MedicineDuke University Medical CenterDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Ana Singh
- Department of Mathematics and StatisticsCalvin UniversityGrand RapidsMichiganUSA
| | - Benjamin Steves
- Department of Mathematics and StatisticsCalvin UniversityGrand RapidsMichiganUSA
| | - Samantha Driesinga
- Department of Mathematics and StatisticsCalvin UniversityGrand RapidsMichiganUSA
| | - Lewis G. Halsey
- School of Life and Health SciencesUniversity of RoehamptonLondonUK
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat ValencianaValenciaSpain
- Kolmarden Wildlife ParkKolmardenSweden
- Linkoping University, IFMLinköpingSweden
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McHuron EA, Adamczak S, Arnould JPY, Ashe E, Booth C, Bowen WD, Christiansen F, Chudzinska M, Costa DP, Fahlman A, Farmer NA, Fortune SME, Gallagher CA, Keen KA, Madsen PT, McMahon CR, Nabe-Nielsen J, Noren DP, Noren SR, Pirotta E, Rosen DAS, Speakman CN, Villegas-Amtmann S, Williams R. Key questions in marine mammal bioenergetics. Conserv Physiol 2022; 10:coac055. [PMID: 35949259 PMCID: PMC9358695 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coac055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Bioenergetic approaches are increasingly used to understand how marine mammal populations could be affected by a changing and disturbed aquatic environment. There remain considerable gaps in our knowledge of marine mammal bioenergetics, which hinder the application of bioenergetic studies to inform policy decisions. We conducted a priority-setting exercise to identify high-priority unanswered questions in marine mammal bioenergetics, with an emphasis on questions relevant to conservation and management. Electronic communication and a virtual workshop were used to solicit and collate potential research questions from the marine mammal bioenergetic community. From a final list of 39 questions, 11 were identified as 'key' questions because they received votes from at least 50% of survey participants. Key questions included those related to energy intake (prey landscapes, exposure to human activities) and expenditure (field metabolic rate, exposure to human activities, lactation, time-activity budgets), energy allocation priorities, metrics of body condition and relationships with survival and reproductive success and extrapolation of data from one species to another. Existing tools to address key questions include labelled water, animal-borne sensors, mark-resight data from long-term research programs, environmental DNA and unmanned vehicles. Further validation of existing approaches and development of new methodologies are needed to comprehensively address some key questions, particularly for cetaceans. The identification of these key questions can provide a guiding framework to set research priorities, which ultimately may yield more accurate information to inform policies and better conserve marine mammal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A McHuron
- Corresponding author: Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington, WA, 98195, USA.
| | - Stephanie Adamczak
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
| | - John P Y Arnould
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Erin Ashe
- Oceans Initiative, Seattle, WA, 98102, USA
| | - Cormac Booth
- SMRU Consulting, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 8LB, UK
| | - W Don Bowen
- Biology Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
- Population Ecology Division, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada
| | - Fredrik Christiansen
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Zoophysiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Center for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch, Murdoch University, WA 6150, Australia
| | - Magda Chudzinska
- SMRU Consulting, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 8LB, UK
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9XL, UK
| | - Daniel P Costa
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, 46005 Valencia, Spain
- Kolmården Wildlife Park, 618 92 Kolmården, Sweden
| | - Nicholas A Farmer
- NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, USA
| | - Sarah M E Fortune
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Cara A Gallagher
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Kelly A Keen
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
| | - Peter T Madsen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Clive R McMahon
- IMOS Animal Tagging, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia
| | | | - Dawn P Noren
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, 98112, USA
| | - Shawn R Noren
- Institute of Marine Science, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA
| | - Enrico Pirotta
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9LZ, UK
| | - David A S Rosen
- Institute for Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1ZA, Canada
| | - Cassie N Speakman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Stella Villegas-Amtmann
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
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Brijs J, Fahlman A, Fore M, Manteca X. Editorial: Animal Welfare - Volume II: Using Bio-sensing Devices to Assess Farm Animal Welfare. Front Physiol 2022; 13:848955. [PMID: 35222099 PMCID: PMC8874209 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.848955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jeroen Brijs
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
- Kolmården Wildlife Park, Kolmården, Sweden
- Global Diving Research SL, Valencia, Spain
| | - Martin Fore
- Department of Engineering Cybernetics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Xavier Manteca
- School of Veterinary Science, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Xavier Manteca
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9
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Ruesch A, McKnight JC, Fahlman A, Shinn-Cunningham BG, Kainerstorfer JM. Near-Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool for Marine Mammal Research and Care. Front Physiol 2022; 12:816701. [PMID: 35111080 PMCID: PMC8801602 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.816701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Developments in wearable human medical and sports health trackers has offered new solutions to challenges encountered by eco-physiologists attempting to measure physiological attributes in freely moving animals. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is one such solution that has potential as a powerful physio-logging tool to assess physiology in freely moving animals. NIRS is a non-invasive optics-based technology, that uses non-ionizing radiation to illuminate biological tissue and measures changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin concentrations inside tissues such as skin, muscle, and the brain. The overall footprint of the device is small enough to be deployed in wearable physio-logging devices. We show that changes in hemoglobin concentration can be recorded from bottlenose dolphins and gray seals with signal quality comparable to that achieved in human recordings. We further discuss functionality, benefits, and limitations of NIRS as a standard tool for animal care and wildlife tracking for the marine mammal research community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Ruesch
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - J. Chris McKnight
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: J. Chris McKnight,
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
- Kolmården Wildlife Park, Kolmården, Sweden
| | - Barbara G. Shinn-Cunningham
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Jana M. Kainerstorfer
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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10
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Allen AS, Read AJ, Shorter KA, Gabaldon J, Blawas AM, Rocho-Levine J, Fahlman A. Dynamic body acceleration as a proxy to predict the cost of locomotion in bottlenose dolphins. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274390. [PMID: 35014667 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Estimates of the energetic costs of locomotion (COL) at different activity levels are necessary to answer fundamental eco-physiological questions and to understand the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance to marine mammals. We combined estimates of energetic costs derived from breath-by-breath respirometry with measurements of overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) from biologging tags to validate ODBA as a proxy for COL in trained common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). We measured resting metabolic rate (RMR); mean individual RMR was 0.71-1.42 times that of a similarly sized terrestrial mammal and agreed with past measurements which used breath-by-breath and flow-through respirometry. We also measured energy expenditure during submerged swim trials, at primarily moderate exercise levels. We subtracted RMR to obtain COL, and normalized COL by body size to incorporate individual swimming efficiencies. We found both mass-specific energy expenditure and mass-specific COL were linearly related with ODBA. Measurements of activity level and cost of transport (the energy required to move a given distance) improve understanding of the costs of locomotion in marine mammals. The strength of the correlation between ODBA and COL varied among individuals, but the overall relationship can be used at a broad scale to estimate the energetic costs of disturbance, daily locomotion costs to build energy budgets, and investigate the costs of diving in free-ranging animals where bio-logging data are available. We propose that a similar approach could be applied to other cetacean species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - K Alex Shorter
- Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | | | | | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Valencia, Spain.,Global Diving Research S.L., Valencia, Spain
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11
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Borque-Espinosa A, Rode KD, Ferrero-Fernández D, Forte A, Capaccioni-Azzati R, Fahlman A. Subsurface swimming and stationary diving are metabolically cheap in adult Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). J Exp Biol 2021; 224:273381. [PMID: 34746957 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Walruses rely on sea-ice to efficiently forage and rest between diving bouts while maintaining proximity to prime foraging habitat. Recent declines in summer sea ice have resulted in walruses hauling out on land where they have to travel farther to access productive benthic habitat while potentially increasing energetic costs. Despite the need to better understand the impact of sea ice loss on energy expenditure, knowledge about metabolic demands of specific behaviours in walruses is scarce. In the present study, 3 adult female Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) participated in flow-through respirometry trials to measure metabolic rates while floating inactive at the water surface during a minimum of 5 min, during a 180-second stationary dive, and while swimming horizontally underwater for ∼90 m. Metabolic rates during stationary dives (3.82±0.56 l O2 min-1) were lower than those measured at the water surface (4.64±1.04 l O2 min-1), which did not differ from rates measured during subsurface swimming (4.91±0.77 l O2 min-1). Thus, neither stationary diving nor subsurface swimming resulted in metabolic rates above those exhibited by walruses at the water surface. These results suggest that walruses minimize their energetic investment during underwater behaviours as reported for other marine mammals. Although environmental factors experienced by free-ranging walruses (e.g., winds or currents) likely affect metabolic rates, our results provide important information for understanding how behavioural changes affect energetic costs and can be used to improve bioenergetics models aimed at predicting the metabolic consequences of climate change on walruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Borque-Espinosa
- Universitat de València, Av. de Blasco Ibáñez 13, 46010 Valencia, Spain.,Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Karyn D Rode
- U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, , 4210 University Dr, Anchorage, 99508 AK, USA
| | | | - Anabel Forte
- Universitat de València, Av. de Blasco Ibáñez 13, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,Global Diving Research, Inc. Ottawa, K2J 5E8 ON, Canada
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12
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Robinson NJ, García-Párraga D, Stacy BA, Costidis AM, Blanco GS, Clyde-Brockway CE, Haas HL, Harms CA, Patel SH, Stacy NI, Fahlman A. A Baseline Model For Estimating the Risk of Gas Embolism in Sea Turtles During Routine Dives. Front Physiol 2021; 12:678555. [PMID: 34539425 PMCID: PMC8440993 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.678555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea turtles, like other air-breathing diving vertebrates, commonly experience significant gas embolism (GE) when incidentally caught at depth in fishing gear and brought to the surface. To better understand why sea turtles develop GE, we built a mathematical model to estimate partial pressures of N2 (PN2), O2 (PO2), and CO2 (PCO2) in the major body-compartments of diving loggerheads (Caretta caretta), leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), and green turtles (Chelonia mydas). This model was adapted from a published model for estimating gas dynamics in marine mammals and penguins. To parameterize the sea turtle model, we used values gleaned from previously published literature and 22 necropsies. Next, we applied this model to data collected from free-roaming individuals of the three study species. Finally, we varied body-condition and cardiac output within the model to see how these factors affected the risk of GE. Our model suggests that cardiac output likely plays a significant role in the modulation of GE, especially in the deeper diving leatherback turtles. This baseline model also indicates that even during routine diving behavior, sea turtles are at high risk of GE. This likely means that turtles have additional behavioral, anatomical, and/or physiologic adaptions that serve to reduce the probability of GE but were not incorporated in this model. Identifying these adaptations and incorporating them into future iterations of this model will further reveal the factors driving GE in sea turtles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan J. Robinson
- Department of Research, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Daniel García-Párraga
- Department of Research, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Brian A. Stacy
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, University of Florida (duty station), Washington, DC, United States
| | | | - Gabriela S. Blanco
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR-CCT CONICET-CENPAT), Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | | | - Heather L. Haas
- Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - Craig A. Harms
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Samir H. Patel
- Coonamessett Farm Foundation, East Falmouth, MA, United States
| | - Nicole I. Stacy
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Department of Research, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
- Global Diving Research, Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada
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13
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Abstract
The physiological mechanisms by which animals regulate energy expenditure, respond to stimuli and stressors, and maintain homeostasis at the tissue, organ and whole organism levels can be described by 'physiologging'-that is, the use of onboard miniature electronic devices to record physiological metrics of animals in captivity or free-living in the wild. Despite its origins in the 1960s, physiologging has evolved more slowly than its umbrella field of biologging. However, the recording of physiological metrics in free-living animals will be key to solving some of the greatest challenges in biodiversity conservation, issues pertaining to animal health and welfare, and for inspiring future therapeutic strategies for human health. Current physiologging technologies encompass the measurement of physiological variables such as heart rate, brain activity, body temperature, muscle stimulation and dynamic movement, yet future developments will allow for onboard logging of metrics relating to organelle, molecular and genetic function. This article is part of the theme issue 'Measuring physiology in free-living animals (Part II)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. A. Hawkes
- University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| | - A. Fahlman
- Global Diving Research Inc. Ottawa ON K2J 5E8, USA
| | - K. Sato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture 277-8564, Japan
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14
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Blawas AM, Nowacek DP, Rocho-Levine J, Robeck TR, Fahlman A. Scaling of heart rate with breathing frequency and body mass in cetaceans. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200223. [PMID: 34121456 PMCID: PMC8200651 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasticity in the cardiac function of a marine mammal facilitates rapid adjustments to the contrasting metabolic demands of breathing at the surface and diving during an extended apnea. By matching their heart rate (fH) to their immediate physiological needs, a marine mammal can improve its metabolic efficiency and maximize the proportion of time spent underwater. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a known modulation of fH that is driven by respiration and has been suggested to increase cardiorespiratory efficiency. To investigate the presence of RSA in cetaceans and the relationship between fH, breathing rate (fR) and body mass (Mb), we measured simultaneous fH and fR in five cetacean species in human care. We found that a higher fR was associated with a higher mean instantaneous fH (ifH) and minimum ifH of the RSA. By contrast, fH scaled inversely with Mb such that larger animals had lower mean and minimum ifHs of the RSA. There was a significant allometric relationship between maximum ifH of the RSA and Mb, but not fR, which may indicate that this parameter is set by physical laws and not adjusted dynamically with physiological needs. RSA was significantly affected by fR and was greatly reduced with small increases in fR. Ultimately, these data show that surface fHs of cetaceans are complex and the fH patterns we observed are controlled by several factors. We suggest the importance of considering RSA when interpreting fH measurements and particularly how fR may drive fH changes that are important for efficient gas exchange. This article is part of the theme issue 'Measuring physiology in free-living animals (Part I)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M. Blawas
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Douglas P. Nowacek
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
- Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | | | | | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain 46005
- Global Diving Research, Inc., Ottawa, Canada, K2 J 5E8
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15
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Hawkes LA, Fahlman A, Sato K. Introduction to the theme issue: Measuring physiology in free-living animals. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200210. [PMID: 34121463 PMCID: PMC8200652 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
By describing where animals go, biologging technologies (i.e. animal attached logging of biological variables with small electronic devices) have been used to document the remarkable athletic feats of wild animals since the 1940s. The rapid development and miniaturization of physiologging (i.e. logging of physiological variables such as heart rate, blood oxygen content, lactate, breathing frequency and tidal volume on devices attached to animals) technologies in recent times (e.g. devices that weigh less than 2 g mass that can measure electrical biopotentials for days to weeks) has provided astonishing insights into the physiology of free-living animals to document how and why wild animals undertake these extreme feats. Now, physiologging, which was traditionally hindered by technological limitations, device size, ethics and logistics, is poised to benefit enormously from the on-going developments in biomedical and sports wearables technologies. Such technologies are already improving animal welfare and yield in agriculture and aquaculture, but may also reveal future pathways for therapeutic interventions in human health by shedding light on the physiological mechanisms with which free-living animals undertake some of the most extreme and impressive performances on earth. This article is part of the theme issue 'Measuring physiology in free-living animals (Part I)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. A. Hawkes
- Hatherly Laboratories, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road Exeter EX4 4PS, UK
| | - A. Fahlman
- Global Diving Research Inc, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valencia, Valencia, 46005 Spain
| | - K. Sato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture 277-8564, Japan
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16
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Gunner RM, Wilson RP, Holton MD, Scott R, Arkwright A, Fahlman A, Ulrich M, Hopkins P, Duarte C, Eizaguirre C. Activity of loggerhead turtles during the U-shaped dive: insights using angular velocity metrics. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the behavioural ecology of endangered taxa can inform conservation strategies. The activity budgets of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta are still poorly understood because many tracking methods show only horizontal displacement and ignore dives and associated behaviours. However, time-depth recorders have enabled researchers to identify flat, U-shaped dives (or type 1a dives) and these are conventionally labelled as resting dives on the seabed because they involve no vertical displacement of the animal. Video- and acceleration-based studies have demonstrated this is not always true. Focusing on sea turtles nesting on the Cabo Verde archipelago, we describe a new metric derived from magnetometer data, absolute angular velocity, that integrates indices of angular rotation in the horizontal plane to infer activity. Using this metric, we evaluated the variation in putative resting behaviours during the bottom phase of type 1a dives for 5 individuals over 13 to 17 d at sea during a single inter-nesting interval (over 75 turtle d in total). We defined absolute resting within the bottom phase of type 1a dives as periods with no discernible acceleration or angular movement. Whilst absolute resting constituted a significant proportion of each turtle’s time budget for this 1a dive type, turtles allocated 16-38% of their bottom time to activity, with many dives being episodic, comprised of intermittent bouts of rest and rotational activity. This implies that previously considered resting behaviours are complex and need to be accounted for in energy budgets, particularly since energy budgets may impact conservation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- RM Gunner
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - RP Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - MD Holton
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - R Scott
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
- Natural Environmental Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1FL, UK
| | - A Arkwright
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- L’Oceanogràfic, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - A Fahlman
- L’Oceanogràfic, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - M Ulrich
- Institutionen för fysik kemi och biologi (IFM), Linköping Universitet, Olaus Magnus väg, 583 30 Linköping, Sweden
| | - P Hopkins
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - C Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - C Eizaguirre
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E35SA, UK
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17
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Fahlman A, Aoki K, Bale G, Brijs J, Chon KH, Drummond CK, Føre M, Manteca X, McDonald BI, McKnight JC, Sakamoto KQ, Suzuki I, Rivero MJ, Ropert-Coudert Y, Wisniewska DM. The New Era of Physio-Logging and Their Grand Challenges. Front Physiol 2021; 12:669158. [PMID: 33859577 PMCID: PMC8042203 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.669158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanográfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Kagari Aoki
- Department of Marine Bioscience, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Gemma Bale
- Department of Physics and Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jeroen Brijs
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Manoa, HI, United States
| | - Ki H. Chon
- Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Colin K. Drummond
- Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Martin Føre
- Department of Engineering Cybernetics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Xavier Manteca
- Department of Animal and Food Science, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Birgitte I. McDonald
- Moss Landing Marine Labs at San Jose State University, Moss Landing, CA, United States
| | - J. Chris McKnight
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Kentaro Q. Sakamoto
- Department of Marine Bioscience, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Ippei Suzuki
- Akkeshi Marine Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Akkeshi, Japan
| | | | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Centre D'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université, UMR7372, CNRS, France
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18
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Blawas AM, Ware KE, Schmaltz E, Zheng L, Spruance J, Allen AS, West N, Devos N, Corcoran DL, Nowacek DP, Eward WC, Fahlman A, Somarelli JA. An integrated comparative physiology and molecular approach pinpoints mediators of breath-hold capacity in dolphins. Evol Med Public Health 2021; 9:420-430. [PMID: 35169481 PMCID: PMC8833867 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoab036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background and objectives
Ischemic events, such as ischemic heart disease and stroke, are the number one cause of death globally. Ischemia prevents blood, carrying essential nutrients and oxygen, from reaching tissues, leading to cell and tissue death, and eventual organ failure. While humans are relatively intolerant to ischemic events, other species, such as marine mammals, have evolved a unique tolerance to chronic ischemia/reperfusion during apneic diving. To identify possible molecular features of an increased tolerance for apnea, we examined changes in gene expression in breath-holding dolphins.
Methodology
Here, we capitalized on the adaptations possesed by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) for diving as a comparative model of ischemic stress and hypoxia tolerance to identify molecular features associated with breath holding. Given that signals in the blood may influence physiological changes during diving, we used RNA-Seq and enzyme assays to examine time-dependent changes in gene expression in the blood of breath-holding dolphins.
Results
We observed time-dependent upregulation of the arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) gene and increased lipoxygenase activity during breath holding. ALOX5 has been shown to be activated during hypoxia in rodent models, and its metabolites, leukotrienes, induce vasoconstriction.
Conclusions and implications
The upregulation of ALOX5 mRNA occurred within the calculated aerobic dive limit of the species, suggesting that ALOX5 may play a role in the dolphin’s physiological response to diving, particularly in a pro-inflammatory response to ischemia and in promoting vasoconstriction. These observations pinpoint a potential molecular mechanism by which dolphins, and perhaps other marine mammals, respond to the prolonged breath holds associated with diving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M Blawas
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Kathryn E Ware
- Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Emma Schmaltz
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Larry Zheng
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Jacob Spruance
- Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Austin S Allen
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | | | - Nicolas Devos
- Duke Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - David L Corcoran
- Duke Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Douglas P Nowacek
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC, USA
- Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - William C Eward
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Global Diving Research, Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Research Department, Fundación Oceanogrāfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Jason A Somarelli
- Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke University Medical Center, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, USA
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19
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Arregui M, Singleton EM, Saavedra P, Pabst DA, Moore MJ, Sierra E, Rivero MA, Câmara N, Niemeyer M, Fahlman A, McLellan WA, Bernaldo de Quirós Y. Myoglobin Concentration and Oxygen Stores in Different Functional Muscle Groups from Three Small Cetacean Species. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11020451. [PMID: 33572177 PMCID: PMC7915992 DOI: 10.3390/ani11020451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2020] [Revised: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Marine mammals display several physiological adaptations to their marine environment. Higher myoglobin concentrations in their muscles compared to terrestrial mammals allow them to increase their onboard oxygen stores, enhancing the time available to dive. Most previous studies have calculated cetaceans’ onboard oxygen stores by assuming the myoglobin concentration of a single muscle to be representative of all the muscles in the body. In this study, we analyzed this assumption by comparing it to a more precise method that weighs all body muscles and measures myoglobin concentration in different functional groups. Abstract Compared with terrestrial mammals, marine mammals possess increased muscle myoglobin concentrations (Mb concentration, g Mb · 100g−1 muscle), enhancing their onboard oxygen (O2) stores and their aerobic dive limit. Although myoglobin is not homogeneously distributed, cetacean muscle O2 stores have been often determined by measuring Mb concentration from a single muscle sample (longissimus dorsi) and multiplying that value by the animal’s locomotor muscle or total muscle mass. This study serves to determine the accuracy of previous cetacean muscle O2 stores calculations. For that, body muscles from three delphinid species: Delphinus delphis, Stenella coeruleoalba, and Stenella frontalis, were dissected and weighed. Mb concentration was calculated from six muscles/muscle groups (epaxial, hypaxial and rectus abdominis; mastohumeralis; sternohyoideus; and dorsal scalenus), each representative of different functional groups (locomotion powering swimming, pectoral fin movement, feeding and respiration, respectively). Results demonstrated that the Mb concentration was heterogeneously distributed, being significantly higher in locomotor muscles. Locomotor muscles were the major contributors to total muscle O2 stores (mean 92.8%) due to their high Mb concentration and large muscle masses. Compared to this method, previous studies assuming homogenous Mb concentration distribution likely underestimated total muscle O2 stores by 10% when only considering locomotor muscles and overestimated them by 13% when total muscle mass was considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Arregui
- Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain; (M.A.); (M.A.R.); (N.C.); (Y.B.d.Q.)
| | - Emily M. Singleton
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA; (E.M.S.); (D.A.P.); (W.A.M.)
| | - Pedro Saavedra
- Department of Mathematics, Campus de Tafira s/n, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas, Spain;
| | - D. Ann Pabst
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA; (E.M.S.); (D.A.P.); (W.A.M.)
| | - Michael J. Moore
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA;
| | - Eva Sierra
- Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain; (M.A.); (M.A.R.); (N.C.); (Y.B.d.Q.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-928-4597-08
| | - Miguel A. Rivero
- Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain; (M.A.); (M.A.R.); (N.C.); (Y.B.d.Q.)
| | - Nakita Câmara
- Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain; (M.A.); (M.A.R.); (N.C.); (Y.B.d.Q.)
| | - Misty Niemeyer
- International Fund for Animal Welfare, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675, USA;
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Global Diving Research Inc., Ottawa, ON K2J 5E8, Canada;
- Fundación Oceanogràphic, Department of Research, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5892, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
| | - William A. McLellan
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA; (E.M.S.); (D.A.P.); (W.A.M.)
| | - Yara Bernaldo de Quirós
- Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain; (M.A.); (M.A.R.); (N.C.); (Y.B.d.Q.)
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5892, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
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20
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Borque-Espinosa A, Ferrero-Fernández D, Capaccioni-Azzati R, Fahlman A. Lung function assessment in the Pacific walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus divergens) while resting on land and submerged in water. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb227389. [PMID: 33188062 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.227389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, we examined lung function in healthy resting adult (born in 2003) Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) by measuring respiratory flow ([Formula: see text]) using a custom-made pneumotachometer. Three female walruses (670-1025 kg) voluntarily participated in spirometry trials while spontaneously breathing on land (sitting and lying down in sternal recumbency) and floating in water. While sitting, two walruses performed active respiratory efforts, and one animal participated in lung compliance measurements. For spontaneous breaths, [Formula: see text] was lower when walruses were lying down (e.g. expiration: 7.1±1.2 l s-1) as compared with in water (9.9±1.4 l s-1), while tidal volume (VT, 11.5±4.6 l), breath duration (4.6±1.4 s) and respiratory frequency (7.6±2.2 breaths min-1) remained the same. The measured VT and specific dynamic lung compliance (0.32±0.07 cmH2O-1) for spontaneous breaths were higher than those estimated for similarly sized terrestrial mammals. VT increased with body mass (allometric mass-exponent=1.29) and ranged from 3% to 43% of the estimated total lung capacity (TLCest) for spontaneous breaths. When normalized for TLCest, the maximal expiratory [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]exp) was higher than that estimated in phocids, but lower than that reported in cetaceans and the California sea lion. [Formula: see text]exp was maintained over all lung volumes during spontaneous and active respiratory manoeuvres. We conclude that location (water or land) affects lung function in the walrus and should be considered when studying respiratory physiology in semi-aquatic marine mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Borque-Espinosa
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
- Universitat de València, Av. de Blasco Ibáñez 13, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | | | | | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
- Global Diving Research, Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada, K2J 5E8
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21
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Blawas AM, Nowacek DP, Allen AS, Rocho-Levine J, Fahlman A. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and submersion bradycardia in bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus). J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb234096. [PMID: 33257432 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.234096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Among the many factors that influence the cardiovascular adjustments of marine mammals is the act of respiration at the surface, which facilitates rapid gas exchange and tissue re-perfusion between dives. We measured heart rate (fH) in six adult male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) spontaneously breathing at the surface to quantify the relationship between respiration and fH, and compared this with fH during submerged breath-holds. We found that dolphins exhibit a pronounced respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during surface breathing, resulting in a rapid increase in fH after a breath followed by a gradual decrease over the following 15-20 s to a steady fH that is maintained until the following breath. RSA resulted in a maximum instantaneous fH (ifH) of 87.4±13.6 beats min-1 and a minimum ifH of 56.8±14.8 beats min-1, and the degree of RSA was positively correlated with the inter-breath interval (IBI). The minimum ifH during 2 min submerged breath-holds where dolphins exhibited submersion bradycardia (36.4±9.0 beats min-1) was lower than the minimum ifH observed during an average IBI; however, during IBIs longer than 30 s, the minimum ifH (38.7±10.6 beats min-1) was not significantly different from that during 2 min breath-holds. These results demonstrate that the fH patterns observed during submerged breath-holds are similar to those resulting from RSA during an extended IBI. Here, we highlight the importance of RSA in influencing fH variability and emphasize the need to understand its relationship to submersion bradycardia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M Blawas
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Douglas P Nowacek
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
- Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Austin S Allen
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | | | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, c/Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19 , 46005, Valencia, Spain
- Global Diving Research, Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada, K2J 5E8
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22
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Fahlman A, Cozzi B, Manley M, Jabas S, Malik M, Blawas A, Janik VM. Conditioned Variation in Heart Rate During Static Breath-Holds in the Bottlenose Dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus). Front Physiol 2020; 11:604018. [PMID: 33329056 PMCID: PMC7732665 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.604018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous reports suggested the existence of direct somatic motor control over heart rate (f H) responses during diving in some marine mammals, as the result of a cognitive and/or learning process rather than being a reflexive response. This would be beneficial for O2 storage management, but would also allow ventilation-perfusion matching for selective gas exchange, where O2 and CO2 can be exchanged with minimal exchange of N2. Such a mechanism explains how air breathing marine vertebrates avoid diving related gas bubble formation during repeated dives, and how stress could interrupt this mechanism and cause excessive N2 exchange. To investigate the conditioned response, we measured the f H-response before and during static breath-holds in three bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) when shown a visual symbol to perform either a long (LONG) or short (SHORT) breath-hold, or during a spontaneous breath-hold without a symbol (NS). The average f H (if Hstart), and the rate of change in f H (dif H/dt) during the first 20 s of the breath-hold differed between breath-hold types. In addition, the minimum instantaneous f H (if Hmin), and the average instantaneous f H during the last 10 s (if Hend) also differed between breath-hold types. The dif H/dt was greater, and the if Hstart, if Hmin, and if Hend were lower during a LONG as compared with either a SHORT, or an NS breath-hold (P < 0.05). Even though the NS breath-hold dives were longer in duration as compared with SHORT breath-hold dives, the dif H/dt was greater and the if Hstart, if Hmin, and if Hend were lower during the latter (P < 0.05). In addition, when the dolphin determined the breath-hold duration (NS), the f H was more variable within and between individuals and trials, suggesting a conditioned capacity to adjust the f H-response. These results suggest that dolphins have the capacity to selectively alter the f H-response during diving and provide evidence for significant cardiovascular plasticity in dolphins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Global Diving Research Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Bruno Cozzi
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Mercy Manley
- Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, The Mirage, Las Vegas, NV, United States
| | - Sandra Jabas
- Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, The Mirage, Las Vegas, NV, United States
| | - Marek Malik
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Internal Cardiology Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Ashley Blawas
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC, United States
| | - Vincent M. Janik
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
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Quick NJ, Cioffi WR, Shearer JM, Fahlman A, Read AJ. Extreme diving in mammals: first estimates of behavioural aerobic dive limits in Cuvier's beaked whales. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:223/18/jeb222109. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.222109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
We analysed 3680 dives from 23 satellite-linked tags deployed on Cuvier's beaked whales to assess the relationship between long duration dives and inter-deep dive intervals and to estimate aerobic dive limit (ADL). The median duration of presumed foraging dives was 59 min and 5% of dives exceeded 77.7 min. We found no relationship between the longest 5% of dive durations and the following inter-deep dive interval nor any relationship with the ventilation period immediately prior to or following a long dive. We suggest that Cuvier's beaked whales have low metabolic rates, high oxygen storage capacities and a high acid-buffering capacity to deal with the by-products of both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, which enables them to extend dive durations and exploit their bathypelagic foraging habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola J. Quick
- Duke University Marine Laboratory, Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - William R. Cioffi
- Duke University Marine Laboratory, University Program in Ecology, Nicholas School of the Environment, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Jeanne M. Shearer
- Duke University Marine Laboratory, University Program in Ecology, Nicholas School of the Environment, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valencia, Valencia, 46005, Spain
| | - Andrew J. Read
- Duke University Marine Laboratory, Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
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24
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Fahlman A, Miedler S, Marti-Bonmati L, Ferrero Fernandez D, Muñoz Caballero P, Arenarez J, Rocho-Levine J, Robeck T, Blawas A. Cardiorespiratory coupling in cetaceans; a physiological strategy to improve gas exchange? J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb226365. [PMID: 32680902 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.226365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In the current study we used transthoracic echocardiography to measure stroke volume (SV), heart rate (fH) and cardiac output (CO) in adult bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), a male beluga whale calf [Delphinapterus leucas, body mass (Mb) range: 151-175 kg] and an adult female false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens, estimated Mb: 500-550 kg) housed in managed care. We also recorded continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) in the beluga whale, bottlenose dolphin, false killer whale, killer whale (Orcinus orca) and pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) to evaluate cardiorespiratory coupling while breathing spontaneously under voluntary control. The results show that cetaceans have a strong respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA), during which both fH and SV vary within the interbreath interval, making average values dependent on the breathing frequency (fR). The RSA-corrected fH was lower for all cetaceans compared with that of similarly sized terrestrial mammals breathing continuously. As compared with terrestrial mammals, the RSA-corrected SV and CO were either lower or the same for the dolphin and false killer whale, while both were elevated in the beluga whale. When plotting fR against fH for an inactive mammal, cetaceans had a greater cardiac response to changes in fR as compared with terrestrial mammals. We propose that these data indicate an important coupling between respiration and cardiac function that enhances gas exchange, and that this RSA is important to maximize gas exchange during surface intervals, similar to that reported in the elephant seal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Global Diving Research, Inc., Ottawa, ON, K2J 5E8, Canada
- Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
- Research Group on Biomedical Imaging (GIBI230), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria la Fe, 46026 Valencia, Spain
| | - Stefan Miedler
- Veterinary Cardiology, Plaza Mayor 7/10, 46120 Alboraya, Valencia, Spain
| | - Luis Marti-Bonmati
- Research Group on Biomedical Imaging (GIBI230), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria la Fe, 46026 Valencia, Spain
| | - Diana Ferrero Fernandez
- Biology Department, Avanqua-Oceanográfic SL, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Paola Muñoz Caballero
- Biology Department, Avanqua-Oceanográfic SL, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Julietta Arenarez
- Biology Department, Avanqua-Oceanográfic SL, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | | | | | - Ashley Blawas
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
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Abstract
The air volume in the respiratory system of marine tetrapods provides a store of O2 to fuel aerobic metabolism during dives; however, it can also be a liability, as the associated N2 can increase the risk of decompression sickness. In order to more fully understand the physiological limitations of different air-breathing marine vertebrates, it is therefore important to be able to accurately estimate the air volume in the respiratory system during diving. One method that has been used to do so is to calculate the air volume from glide phases - periods of movement during which no thrust is produced by the animal - which many species conduct during ascent periods, when gases are expanding owing to decreasing hydrostatic pressure. This method assumes that there is conservation of mass in the respiratory system, with volume changes only driven by pressure. In this Commentary, we use previously published data to argue that both the respiratory quotient and differences in tissue and blood gas solubility potentially alter the mass balance in the respiratory system throughout a dive. Therefore, near the end of a dive, the measured volume of gas at a given pressure may be 12-50% less than from the start of the dive; the actual difference will depend on the length of the dive, the cardiac output, the pulmonary shunt and the metabolic rate. Novel methods and improved understanding of diving physiology will be required to verify the size of the effects described here and to more accurately estimate the volume of gas inhaled at the start of a dive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Global Diving Research Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada, K2J 5E8 .,Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Katsufumi Sato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
| | - Patrick Miller
- SMRU (Sea Mammal Research Unit), University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
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26
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Pedersen MB, Fahlman A, Borque-Espinosa A, Madsen PT, Jensen FH. Response to: The metabolic cost of whistling is low but measurable in dolphins. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/11/jeb224915. [PMID: 32513779 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.224915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael B Pedersen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,Global Diving Research, Ottawa, ON K2J 5E8
| | - Alicia Borque-Espinosa
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,University of Valencia, Av. de Blasco Ibáñez, 13, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Peter T Madsen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.,Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Frants H Jensen
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.,Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
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27
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Wilson RP, Williams HJ, Holton MD, di Virgilio A, Börger L, Potts JR, Gunner R, Arkwright A, Fahlman A, Bennett NC, Alagaili A, Cole NC, Duarte CM, Scantlebury DM. An "orientation sphere" visualization for examining animal head movements. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:4291-4302. [PMID: 32489597 PMCID: PMC7246194 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Revised: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal behavior is elicited, in part, in response to external conditions, but understanding how animals perceive the environment and make the decisions that bring about these behavioral responses is challenging.Animal heads often move during specific behaviors and, additionally, typically have sensory systems (notably vision, smell, and hearing) sampling in defined arcs (normally to the front of their heads). As such, head-mounted electronic sensors consisting of accelerometers and magnetometers, which can be used to determine the movement and directionality of animal heads (where head "movement" is defined here as changes in heading [azimuth] and/or pitch [elevation angle]), can potentially provide information both on behaviors in general and also clarify which parts of the environment the animals might be prioritizing ("environmental framing").We propose a new approach to visualize the data of such head-mounted tags that combines the instantaneous outputs of head heading and pitch in a single intuitive spherical plot. This sphere has magnetic heading denoted by "longitude" position and head pitch by "latitude" on this "orientation sphere" (O-sphere).We construct the O-sphere for the head rotations of a number of vertebrates with contrasting body shape and ecology (oryx, sheep, tortoises, and turtles), illustrating various behaviors, including foraging, walking, and environmental scanning. We also propose correcting head orientations for body orientations to highlight specific heading-independent head rotation, and propose the derivation of O-sphere-metrics, such as angular speed across the sphere. This should help identify the functions of various head behaviors.Visualizations of the O-sphere provide an intuitive representation of animal behavior manifest via head orientation and rotation. This has ramifications for quantifying and understanding behaviors ranging from navigation through vigilance to feeding and, when used in tandem with body movement, should provide an important link between perception of the environment and response to it in free-ranging animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P. Wilson
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | | | - Mark D. Holton
- Department of Computing ScienceCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Agustina di Virgilio
- Grupo de Biología de la ConservaciónLaboratorio EcotonoINIBIOMA (CONICET‐Universidad Nacional del Comahue)BarilocheArgentina
- Grupo de Ecología CuantitativaINIBIOMA (CONICET‐Universidad Nacional del Comahue)BarilocheArgentina
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Jonathan R. Potts
- School of Mathematics and StatisticsUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldUK
| | - Richard Gunner
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Alex Arkwright
- Department of BiosciencesCollege of ScienceSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat ValencianaValenciaSpain
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat ValencianaValenciaSpain
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyMammal Research InstituteUniversity of PretoriaPretoriaSouth Africa
| | | | - Nik C. Cole
- Mauritian Wildlife FoundationVacoasMauritius
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation TrustJerseyChannel Islands
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research CentreKing Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyThuwalSaudi Arabia
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Wassmer T, Jensen FH, Fahlman A, Murray DL. Editorial: Ecology and Behaviour of Free-Ranging Animals Studied by Advanced Data-Logging and Tracking Techniques. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Denk M, Fahlman A, Dennison-Gibby S, Song Z, Moore M. Hyperbaric tracheobronchial compression in cetaceans and pinnipeds. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb217885. [PMID: 32041809 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.217885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Assessment of the compressibility of marine mammal airways at depth is crucial to understanding vital physiological processes such as gas exchange during diving. Very few studies have directly assessed changes in cetacean and pinniped tracheobronchial shape, and none have quantified changes in volume with increasing pressure. A harbor seal, gray seal, harp seal, harbor porpoise and common dolphin were imaged promptly post mortem via computed tomography in a radiolucent hyperbaric chamber. Volume reconstructions were performed of segments of the trachea and bronchi of the pinnipeds and bronchi of the cetaceans for each pressure treatment. All specimens examined demonstrated significant decreases in airway volume with increasing pressure, with those of the harbor seal and common dolphin nearing complete collapse at the highest pressures. The common dolphin bronchi demonstrated distinctly different compression dynamics between 50% and 100% lung inflation treatments, indicating the importance of air in maintaining patent airways, and collapse occurred caudally to cranially in the 50% treatment. Dynamics of the harbor seal and gray seal airways indicated that the trachea was less compliant than the bronchi. These findings indicate potential species-specific variability in airway compliance, and cessation of gas exchange may occur at greater depths than those predicted in models assuming rigid airways. This may potentially increase the likelihood of decompression sickness in these animals during diving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Denk
- Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Zhongchang Song
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
- Key Laboratory of Underwater Acoustic Communication and Marine Information Technology of the Ministry of Education, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, People's Republic of China
| | - Michael Moore
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
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Fahlman A, Borque-Espinosa A, Facchin F, Fernandez DF, Caballero PM, Haulena M, Rocho-Levine J. Comparative Respiratory Physiology in Cetaceans. Front Physiol 2020; 11:142. [PMID: 32194433 PMCID: PMC7063064 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In the current study, we used breath-by-breath respirometry to evaluate respiratory physiology under voluntary control in a male beluga calf [Delphinapterus leucas, body mass range (M b): 151-175 kg], an adult female (estimated M b = 500-550 kg) and a juvenile male (M b = 279 kg) false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) housed in managed care. Our results suggest that the measured breathing frequency (f R) is lower, while tidal volume (V T) is significantly greater as compared with allometric predictions from terrestrial mammals. Including previously published data from adult bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) beluga, harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), killer whale (Orcinus orca), pilot whale (Globicephala scammoni), and gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) show that the allometric mass-exponents for V T and f R are similar to that for terrestrial mammals (V T: 1.00, f R: -0.20). In addition, our results suggest an allometric relationship for respiratory flow ( V . ), with a mass-exponent between 0.63 and 0.70, and where the expiratory V . was an average 30% higher as compared with inspiratory V . . These data provide enhanced understanding of the respiratory physiology of cetaceans and are useful to provide proxies of lung function to better understand lung health or physiological limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
- Global Diving Research Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Alicia Borque-Espinosa
- Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
- University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Federico Facchin
- Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
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Borque-Espinosa A, Burgos F, Dennison S, Laughlin R, Manley M, Capaccioni Azzati R, Fahlman A. Pulmonary function testing as a diagnostic tool to assess respiratory health in bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus. Dis Aquat Organ 2020; 138:17-27. [PMID: 32052791 DOI: 10.3354/dao03447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Pulmonary function testing was performed in 3 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus (1 female and 2 males) under managed care during a 2 yr period to assess whether these data provide diagnostic information about respiratory health. Pulmonary radiographs and standard clinical testing were used to evaluate the pulmonary health of each dolphin. The female dolphin (F1) had evidence of chronic pulmonary fibrosis, and 1 male (M2) developed pneumonia during the study. Pulmonary function data were collected from maximal respiratory efforts in water and from spontaneous breaths while beached. From these data, the flow-volume relationship, the flow measured between 25 and 75% of the expired vital capacity (mid forced expiratory flow, FEF25%-75%), and the percent of the vital capacity (VC) at the peak expiratory flow (%VCPEF), were evaluated and compared with the diagnostic assessment. For maximal respiratory manoeuvres in water, there were no differences in FEF25%-75% or %VCPEF, and the flow-volume relationship showed a consistent pattern for F1. Additionally, FEF25%-75% and %VCPEF decreased by 27 and 52%, respectively, and the flow-volume relationship showed clear flow limitations with emerging disease in M2. While spontaneously breathing on land, M2 also showed a 49% decrease in %VCPEF and changes in the flow-volume relationship, indicating flow limitations following the development of pneumonia. Based on these preliminary results, we suggest that pulmonary function testing should be given more attention as a non-invasive and possibly adjunctive diagnostic tool to evaluate lung health of dolphins under managed care and in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Borque-Espinosa
- Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia 46005, Spain
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Bernaldo de Quirós Y, Fernandez A, Baird RW, Brownell RL, Aguilar de Soto N, Allen D, Arbelo M, Arregui M, Costidis A, Fahlman A, Frantzis A, Gulland FMD, Iñíguez M, Johnson M, Komnenou A, Koopman H, Pabst DA, Roe WD, Sierra E, Tejedor M, Schorr G. Advances in research on the impacts of anti-submarine sonar on beaked whales. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 286:20182533. [PMID: 30963955 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Mass stranding events (MSEs) of beaked whales (BWs) were extremely rare prior to the 1960s but increased markedly after the development of naval mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS). The temporal and spatial associations between atypical BW MSEs and naval exercises were first observed in the Canary Islands, Spain, in the mid-1980s. Further research on BWs stranded in association with naval exercises demonstrated pathological findings consistent with decompression sickness (DCS). A 2004 ban on MFASs around the Canary Islands successfully prevented additional BW MSEs in the region, but atypical MSEs have continued in other places of the world, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, with examined individuals showing DCS. A workshop held in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, in September 2017 reviewed current knowledge on BW atypical MSEs associated with MFAS. Our review suggests that the effects of MFAS on BWs vary among individuals or populations, and predisposing factors may contribute to individual outcomes. Spatial management specific to BW habitat, such as the MFAS ban in the Canary Islands, has proven to be an effective mitigation tool and mitigation measures should be established in other areas taking into consideration known population-level information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Bernaldo de Quirós
- 1 Institute of Animal Health, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Veterinary School , C/Transmontaña s/n, 35416, Arucas, Las Palmas , Spain
| | - A Fernandez
- 1 Institute of Animal Health, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Veterinary School , C/Transmontaña s/n, 35416, Arucas, Las Palmas , Spain
| | - R W Baird
- 2 Cascadia Research Collective , 218½ W. 4th Avenue, Olympia, WA 98501 , USA
| | - R L Brownell
- 3 NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center , Monterey, CA 93940 , USA
| | - N Aguilar de Soto
- 4 BIOECOMAC. Dept. Animal Biology, Geology and Edaphology, University of La Laguna , Tenerife , Spain
| | - D Allen
- 5 US Marine Mammal Commission , 4340 East-West Highway, Suite 700, Bethesda, MD 20814 , USA
| | - M Arbelo
- 1 Institute of Animal Health, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Veterinary School , C/Transmontaña s/n, 35416, Arucas, Las Palmas , Spain
| | - M Arregui
- 1 Institute of Animal Health, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Veterinary School , C/Transmontaña s/n, 35416, Arucas, Las Palmas , Spain
| | - A Costidis
- 6 Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Stranding Response Program , 717 General Booth Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23451 , USA
| | - A Fahlman
- 7 Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana , Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia , Spain
| | - A Frantzis
- 8 Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute , Terpsichoris 21, 16671 Vouliagmeni , Greece
| | - F M D Gulland
- 5 US Marine Mammal Commission , 4340 East-West Highway, Suite 700, Bethesda, MD 20814 , USA.,9 The Marine Mammal Center , 2000 Bunker Road, Sausalito, CA 94965 , USA
| | - M Iñíguez
- 10 Fundación Cethus and WDC , Cap J. Bermúdez 1598, (1636), Olivos, Prov. Buenos Aires , Argentina
| | - M Johnson
- 11 Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews , St Andrews , UK
| | - A Komnenou
- 12 School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki , Thessaloniki , Greece
| | - H Koopman
- 13 Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington , Wilmington, NC 28403 , USA
| | - D A Pabst
- 13 Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington , Wilmington, NC 28403 , USA
| | - W D Roe
- 14 Massey University , Palmerston North, PN4222 , New Zealand
| | - E Sierra
- 1 Institute of Animal Health, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Veterinary School , C/Transmontaña s/n, 35416, Arucas, Las Palmas , Spain
| | - M Tejedor
- 15 Canary Islands Stranding Network , Irlanda 7, Playa Blanca, 35580, Lanzarote , Spain
| | - G Schorr
- 16 Marine Ecology & Telemetry Research , 2468 Camp McKenzie Tr NW, Seabeck, WA 98380 , USA
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Arkwright AC, Archibald E, Fahlman A, Holton MD, Crespo-Picazo JL, Cabedo VM, Duarte CM, Scott R, Webb S, Gunner RM, Wilson RP. Behavioral Biomarkers for Animal Health: A Case Study Using Animal-Attached Technology on Loggerhead Turtles. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Pedersen MB, Fahlman A, Borque-Espinosa A, Madsen PT, Jensen FH. Whistling is metabolically cheap for communicating bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:jeb.212498. [PMID: 31796610 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.212498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Toothed whales depend on sound for communication and foraging, making them potentially vulnerable to acoustic masking from increasing anthropogenic noise. Masking effects may be ameliorated by higher amplitudes or rates of calling, but such acoustic compensation mechanisms may incur energetic costs if sound production is expensive. The costs of whistling in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have been reported to be much higher (20% of resting metabolic rate, RMR) than theoretical predictions (0.5-1% of RMR). Here, we address this dichotomy by measuring the change in the resting O2 consumption rate (V̇ O2 ), a proxy for RMR, in three post-absorptive bottlenose dolphins during whistling and silent trials, concurrent with simultaneous measurement of acoustic output using a calibrated hydrophone array. The experimental protocol consisted of a 2-min baseline period to establish RMR, followed by a 2-min voluntary resting surface apnea, with or without whistling as cued by the trainers, and then a 5-min resting period to measure recovery costs. Daily fluctuations in V̇ O2 were accounted for by subtracting the baseline RMR from the recovery costs to estimate the cost of apnea with and without whistles relative to RMR. Analysis of 52 sessions containing 1162 whistles showed that whistling did not increase metabolic cost (P>0.1, +4.2±6.9%) as compared with control trials (-0.5±5.9%; means±s.e.m.). Thus, we reject the hypothesis that whistling is costly for bottlenose dolphins, and conclude that vocal adjustments such as the Lombard response to noise do not represent large direct energetic costs for communicating toothed whales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael B Pedersen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,Global Diving Research, Ottawa, ON, K2J 5E8
| | - Alicia Borque-Espinosa
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,University of Valencia, Av. de Blasco Ibáñez, 13, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Peter T Madsen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.,Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Frants H Jensen
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.,Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, East Sands, St Andrews KY16 8LB, UK.,Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
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Wilson RP, Börger L, Holton MD, Scantlebury DM, Gómez-Laich A, Quintana F, Rosell F, Graf PM, Williams H, Gunner R, Hopkins L, Marks N, Geraldi NR, Duarte CM, Scott R, Strano MS, Robotka H, Eizaguirre C, Fahlman A, Shepard ELC. Estimates for energy expenditure in free-living animals using acceleration proxies: A reappraisal. J Anim Ecol 2019; 89:161-172. [PMID: 31173339 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
It is fundamentally important for many animal ecologists to quantify the costs of animal activities, although it is not straightforward to do so. The recording of triaxial acceleration by animal-attached devices has been proposed as a way forward for this, with the specific suggestion that dynamic body acceleration (DBA) be used as a proxy for movement-based power. Dynamic body acceleration has now been validated frequently, both in the laboratory and in the field, although the literature still shows that some aspects of DBA theory and practice are misunderstood. Here, we examine the theory behind DBA and employ modelling approaches to assess factors that affect the link between DBA and energy expenditure, from the deployment of the tag, through to the calibration of DBA with energy use in laboratory and field settings. Using data from a range of species and movement modes, we illustrate that vectorial and additive DBA metrics are proportional to each other. Either can be used as a proxy for energy and summed to estimate total energy expended over a given period, or divided by time to give a proxy for movement-related metabolic power. Nonetheless, we highlight how the ability of DBA to predict metabolic rate declines as the contribution of non-movement-related factors, such as heat production, increases. Overall, DBA seems to be a substantive proxy for movement-based power but consideration of other movement-related metrics, such as the static body acceleration and the rate of change of body pitch and roll, may enable researchers to refine movement-based metabolic costs, particularly in animals where movement is not characterized by marked changes in body acceleration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory P Wilson
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Mark D Holton
- Department of Computing Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - D Michael Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Agustina Gómez-Laich
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos IBIOMAR-CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | - Flavio Quintana
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos IBIOMAR-CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | - Frank Rosell
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences, and Maritime Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bø i Telemark, Norway
| | - Patricia M Graf
- Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Richard Gunner
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Lloyd Hopkins
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Nikki Marks
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Nathan R Geraldi
- Red Sea Research Centre and Computational Biology Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre and Computational Biology Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rebecca Scott
- Geomar Helmholz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Michael S Strano
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Christophe Eizaguirre
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Departamento de Investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Emily L C Shepard
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany
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Fahlman A, Miedler S, Rocho-Levine J, Jabois A, Arenarez J, Marti-Bonmati L, García-Párraga D, Cauture F. Re-evaluating the significance of the dive response during voluntary surface apneas in the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. Sci Rep 2019; 9:8613. [PMID: 31197193 PMCID: PMC6565721 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45064-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The dive response is well documented for marine mammals, and includes a significant reduction in heart rate (fH) during submersion as compared while breathing at the surface. In the current study we assessed the influence of the Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) while estimating the resting fH while breathing. Using transthoracic echocardiography we measured fH, and stroke volume (SV) during voluntary surface apneas at rest up to 255 s, and during recovery from apnea in 11 adult bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, 9 males and 2 females, body mass range: 140–235 kg). The dolphins exhibited a significant post-respiratory tachycardia and increased SV. Therefore, only data after this RSA had stabilized were used for analysis and comparison. The average (±s.d.) fH, SV, and cardiac output (CO) after spontaneous breaths while resting at the surface were 44 ± 6 beats min−1, 179 ± 31 ml, and 7909 ± 1814 l min−1, respectively. During the apnea the fH, SV, and CO decreased proportionally with the breath-hold duration, and after 255 s they, respectively, had decreased by an average of 18%, 1–21%, and 12–37%. During recovery, the fH, SV, and CO rapidly increased by as much as 117%, 34%, and 190%, respectively. Next, fH, SV and CO rapidly decreased to resting values between 90–110 s following the surface apnea. These data highlight the necessity to define how the resting fH is estimated at the surface, and separating it from the RSA associated with each breath to evaluate the significance of cardiorespiratory matching during diving.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Fahlman
- Research Group on Biomedical Imaging (GIBI230), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria la Fe, 46026, Valencia, Spain. .,Departamento de Investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain.
| | - S Miedler
- Departamento de Investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain.,Veterinary Cardiology, Plaza Mayor 7/10, 46120 Alboraya, Valencia, Spain
| | | | - A Jabois
- Departamento de Biología, Avanqua-Oceanográfic SL, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain
| | - J Arenarez
- Departamento de Biología, Avanqua-Oceanográfic SL, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain
| | - L Marti-Bonmati
- Research Group on Biomedical Imaging (GIBI230), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria la Fe, 46026, Valencia, Spain
| | - D García-Párraga
- Departamento de Investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain.,Departamento de Biología, Avanqua-Oceanográfic SL, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain
| | - F Cauture
- Departamento de Investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain
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Fahlman A, Brodsky M, Miedler S, Dennison S, Ivančić M, Levine G, Rocho-Levine J, Manley M, Rocabert J, Borque-Espinosa A. Ventilation and gas exchange before and after voluntary static surface breath-holds in clinically healthy bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.192211. [PMID: 30760549 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.192211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
We measured respiratory flow (V̇), breathing frequency (f R), tidal volume (V T), breath duration and end-expired O2 content in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) before and after static surface breath-holds ranging from 34 to 292 s. There was considerable variation in the end-expired O2, V T and f R following a breath-hold. The analysis suggests that the dolphins attempt to minimize recovery following a dive by altering V T and f R to rapidly replenish the O2 stores. For the first breath following a surface breath-hold, the end-expired O2 decreased with dive duration, while V T and f R increased. Throughout the recovery period, end-expired O2 increased while the respiratory effort (V T, f R) decreased. We propose that the dolphins alter respiratory effort following a breath-hold according to the reduction in end-expired O2 levels, allowing almost complete recovery after 1.2 min.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Departamento de investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain .,Departamento de Zoología, Grupo de Investigación Biomédica en Imagen GIBI230, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe, Av. Fernando Abril Martorell 106, 46026 Valencia, Spain
| | - Micah Brodsky
- Micah Brodsky, V.M.D. Consulting, 1287 NE 96th Street, Miami Shores, FL 33138, USA
| | - Stefan Miedler
- Departamento de investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Sophie Dennison
- TeleVet Imaging Solutions, PLLC, PO BOX 3344, Oakton, VA 22124, USA
| | - Marina Ivančić
- Chicago Zoological Society, 3300 Golf Road, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA
| | - Gregg Levine
- Dolphin Quest, Oahu, 5000 Kahala Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA
| | | | - Mercy Manley
- Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, The Mirage, Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA
| | - Joan Rocabert
- Mellow Design, C/ Bany dels pavesos 3, 46001 Valencia, Spain
| | - Alicia Borque-Espinosa
- Departamento de investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,Departamento de Zoología, Grupo de Investigación Biomédica en Imagen GIBI230, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe, Av. Fernando Abril Martorell 106, 46026 Valencia, Spain.,Universidad de Valencia, Av. de Blasco Ibáñez, 13, 46010 Valencia, Spain
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Arranz P, Benoit-Bird KJ, Friedlaender AS, Hazen EL, Goldbogen JA, Stimpert AK, DeRuiter SL, Calambokidis J, Southall BL, Fahlman A, Tyack PL. Diving Behavior and Fine-Scale Kinematics of Free-Ranging Risso's Dolphins Foraging in Shallow and Deep-Water Habitats. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
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Cauture F, Sterba-Boatwright B, Rocho-Levine J, Harms C, Miedler S, Fahlman A. Using Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia to Estimate Inspired Tidal Volume in the Bottlenose Dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus). Front Physiol 2019; 10:128. [PMID: 30837895 PMCID: PMC6390636 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Man-made environmental change may have significant impact on apex predators, like marine mammals. Thus, it is important to assess the physiological boundaries for survival in these species, and assess how climate change may affect foraging efficiency and the limits for survival. In the current study, we investigated whether the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) could estimate tidal volume (V T) in resting bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). For this purpose, we measured respiratory flow and electrocardiogram (ECG) in five adult bottlenose dolphins at rest while breathing voluntarily. Initially, an exponential decay function, using three parameters (baseline heart rate, the change in heart rate following a breath, and an exponential decay constant) was used to describe the temporal change in instantaneous heart rate following a breath. The three descriptors, in addition to body mass, were used to develop a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) to predict the inspired tidal volume (V Tinsp). The GAM allowed us to predict V Tinsp with an average ( ± SD) overestimate of 3 ± 2%. A jackknife sensitivity analysis, where 4 of the five dolphins were used to fit the GAM and the 5th dolphin used to make predictions resulted in an average overestimate of 2 ± 10%. Future studies should be used to assess whether similar relationships exist in active animals, allowing V T to be studied in free-ranging animals provided that heart rate can be measured.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Cauture
- Departamento de Investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Blair Sterba-Boatwright
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, United States
| | | | - Craig Harms
- Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Morehead City, NC, United States
| | | | - Andreas Fahlman
- Departamento de Investigación, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
- Research Group on Biomedical Imaging (GIBI2), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe, Valencia, Spain
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Fahlman A, Epple A, García-Párraga D, Robeck T, Haulena M, Piscitelli-Doshkov M, Brodsky M. Characterizing respiratory capacity in belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Respir Physiol Neurobiol 2019; 260:63-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2018.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2018] [Revised: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Lee MA, Nguyen FT, Scott K, Chan NY, Bakh NA, Jones KK, Pham C, Garcia-Salinas P, Garcia-Parraga D, Fahlman A, Marco V, Koman VB, Oliver RJ, Hopkins LW, Rubio C, Wilson RP, Meekan MG, Duarte CM, Strano MS. Implanted Nanosensors in Marine Organisms for Physiological Biologging: Design, Feasibility, and Species Variability. ACS Sens 2019; 4:32-43. [PMID: 30525471 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.8b00538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, biologists have sought to tag animals with various sensors to study aspects of their behavior otherwise inaccessible from controlled laboratory experiments. Despite this, chemical information, both environmental and physiological, remains challenging to collect despite its tremendous potential to elucidate a wide range of animal behaviors. In this work, we explore the design, feasibility, and data collection constraints of implantable, near-infrared fluorescent nanosensors based on DNA-wrapped single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) embedded within a biocompatible poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel. These sensors are enabled by Corona Phase Molecular Recognition (CoPhMoRe) to provide selective chemical detection for marine organism biologging. Riboflavin, a key nutrient in oxidative phosphorylation, is utilized as a model analyte in in vitro and ex vivo tissue measurements. Nine species of bony fish, sharks, eels, and turtles were utilized on site at Oceanogràfic in Valencia, Spain to investigate sensor design parameters, including implantation depth, sensor imaging and detection limits, fluence, and stability, as well as acute and long-term biocompatibility. Hydrogels were implanted subcutaneously and imaged using a customized, field-portable Raspberry Pi camera system. Hydrogels could be detected up to depths of 7 mm in the skin and muscle tissue of deceased teleost fish ( Sparus aurata and Stenotomus chrysops) and a deceased catshark ( Galeus melastomus). The effects of tissue heterogeneity on hydrogel delivery and fluorescence visibility were explored, with darker tissues masking hydrogel fluorescence. Hydrogels were implanted into a living eastern river cooter ( Pseudemys concinna), a European eel ( Anguilla anguilla), and a second species of catshark ( Scyliorhinus stellaris). The animals displayed no observable changes in movement and feeding patterns. Imaging by high-resolution ultrasound indicated no changes in tissue structure in the eel and catshark. In the turtle, some tissue reaction was detected upon dissection and histopathology. Analysis of movement patterns in sarasa comet goldfish ( Carassius auratus) indicated that the hydrogel implants did not affect swimming patterns. Taken together, these results indicate that this implantable form factor is a promising technique for biologging using aquatic vertebrates with further development. Future work will tune the sensor detection range to the physiological range of riboflavin, develop strategies to normalize sensor signal to account for the optical heterogeneity of animal tissues, and design a flexible, wearable device incorporating optoelectronic components that will enable sensor measurements in moving animals. This work advances the application of nanosensors to organisms beyond the commonly used rodent and zebrafish models and is an important step toward the physiological biologging of aquatic organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kathleen Scott
- Office of Animal Resources, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States
| | | | | | | | | | - Pablo Garcia-Salinas
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - Daniel Garcia-Parraga
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - Vicente Marco
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | | | | | - Lloyd W. Hopkins
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Consuelo Rubio
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Research Department, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - Rory P. Wilson
- Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Mark G. Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre (IOMRC), University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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García-Párraga D, Lorenzo T, Wang T, Ortiz JL, Ortega J, Crespo-Picazo JL, Cortijo J, Fahlman A. Deciphering function of the pulmonary arterial sphincters in loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.179820. [PMID: 30348649 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.179820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/14/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
To provide new insight into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying gas emboli (GE) in bycaught loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), we investigated the vasoactive characteristics of the pulmonary and systemic arteries, and the lung parenchyma (LP). Tissues were opportunistically excised from recently dead animals for in vitro studies of vasoactive responses to four different neurotransmitters: acetylcholine (ACh; parasympathetic), serotonin (5HT), adrenaline (Adr; sympathetic) and histamine. The significant amount of smooth muscle in the LP contracted in response to ACh, Adr and histamine. The intrapulmonary and systemic arteries contracted under both parasympathetic and sympathetic stimulation and when exposed to 5HT. However, proximal extrapulmonary arterial (PEPA) sections contracted in response to ACh and 5HT, whereas Adr caused relaxation. In sea turtles, the relaxation in the pulmonary artery was particularly pronounced at the level of the pulmonary artery sphincter (PASp), where the vessel wall was highly muscular. For comparison, we also studied tissue response in freshwater sliders turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans). Both PEPA and LP from freshwater sliders contracted in response to 5HT, ACh and also Adr. We propose that in sea turtles, the dive response (parasympathetic tone) constricts the PEPA, LP and PASp, causing a pulmonary shunt and limiting gas uptake at depth, which reduces the risk of GE during long and deep dives. Elevated sympathetic tone caused by forced submersion during entanglement with fishing gear increases the pulmonary blood flow causing an increase in N2 uptake, potentially leading to the formation of blood and tissue GE at the surface. These findings provide potential physiological and anatomical explanations on how these animals have evolved a cardiac shunt pattern that regulates gas exchange during deep and prolonged diving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel García-Párraga
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Teresa Lorenzo
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Tobias Wang
- Zoophysiology, Department of Biosciences, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jose-Luis Ortiz
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Joaquín Ortega
- Patología y Sanidad Animal, Departamento PASAPTA, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad CEU-Cardenal Herrera, CEU Universities, Moncada, 46018 Valencia, Spain
| | - Jose-Luis Crespo-Picazo
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Julio Cortijo
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,Department of Life Science, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
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43
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Fahlman A, McHugh K, Allen J, Barleycorn A, Allen A, Sweeney J, Stone R, Faulkner Trainor R, Bedford G, Moore MJ, Jensen FH, Wells R. Resting Metabolic Rate and Lung Function in Wild Offshore Common Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, Near Bermuda. Front Physiol 2018; 9:886. [PMID: 30065656 PMCID: PMC6056772 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Diving mammals have evolved a suite of physiological adaptations to manage respiratory gases during extended breath-hold dives. To test the hypothesis that offshore bottlenose dolphins have evolved physiological adaptations to improve their ability for extended deep dives and as protection for lung barotrauma, we investigated the lung function and respiratory physiology of four wild common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) near the island of Bermuda. We measured blood hematocrit (Hct, %), resting metabolic rate (RMR, l O2 ⋅ min-1), tidal volume (VT, l), respiratory frequency (fR, breaths ⋅ min-1), respiratory flow (l ⋅ min-1), and dynamic lung compliance (CL, l ⋅ cmH2O-1) in air and in water, and compared measurements with published results from coastal, shallow-diving dolphins. We found that offshore dolphins had greater Hct (56 ± 2%) compared to shallow-diving bottlenose dolphins (range: 30–49%), thus resulting in a greater O2 storage capacity and longer aerobic diving duration. Contrary to our hypothesis, the specific CL (sCL, 0.30 ± 0.12 cmH2O-1) was not different between populations. Neither the mass-specific RMR (3.0 ± 1.7 ml O2 ⋅ min-1 ⋅ kg-1) nor VT (23.0 ± 3.7 ml ⋅ kg-1) were different from coastal ecotype bottlenose dolphins, both in the wild and under managed care, suggesting that deep-diving dolphins do not have metabolic or respiratory adaptations that differ from the shallow-diving ecotypes. The lack of respiratory adaptations for deep diving further support the recently developed hypothesis that gas management in cetaceans is not entirely passive but governed by alteration in the ventilation-perfusion matching, which allows for selective gas exchange to protect against diving related problems such as decompression sickness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia, Valencia, Spain.,Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, United States.,Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - Katherine McHugh
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, United States
| | - Jason Allen
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, United States
| | - Aaron Barleycorn
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, United States
| | - Austin Allen
- Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC, United States
| | | | - Rae Stone
- Dolphin Quest, Waikoloa, HI, United States
| | | | - Guy Bedford
- Wildlife Consulting Service, Currumbin, QLD, Australia
| | - Michael J Moore
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - Frants H Jensen
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States.,Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Randall Wells
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, United States
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Fahlman A, Jensen FH, Tyack PL, Wells RS. Modeling Tissue and Blood Gas Kinetics in Coastal and Offshore Common Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus. Front Physiol 2018; 9:838. [PMID: 30072907 PMCID: PMC6060447 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are highly versatile breath-holding predators that have adapted to a wide range of foraging niches from rivers and coastal ecosystems to deep-water oceanic habitats. Considerable research has been done to understand how bottlenose dolphins manage O2 during diving, but little information exists on other gases or how pressure affects gas exchange. Here we used a dynamic multi-compartment gas exchange model to estimate blood and tissue O2, CO2, and N2 from high-resolution dive records of two different common bottlenose dolphin ecotypes inhabiting shallow (Sarasota Bay) and deep (Bermuda) habitats. The objective was to compare potential physiological strategies used by the two populations to manage shallow and deep diving life styles. We informed the model using species-specific parameters for blood hematocrit, resting metabolic rate, and lung compliance. The model suggested that the known O2 stores were sufficient for Sarasota Bay dolphins to remain within the calculated aerobic dive limit (cADL), but insufficient for Bermuda dolphins that regularly exceeded their cADL. By adjusting the model to reflect the body composition of deep diving Bermuda dolphins, with elevated muscle mass, muscle myoglobin concentration and blood volume, the cADL increased beyond the longest dive duration, thus reflecting the necessary physiological and morphological changes to maintain their deep-diving life-style. The results indicate that cardiac output had to remain elevated during surface intervals for both ecotypes, and suggests that cardiac output has to remain elevated during shallow dives in-between deep dives to allow sufficient restoration of O2 stores for Bermuda dolphins. Our integrated modeling approach contradicts predictions from simple models, emphasizing the complex nature of physiological interactions between circulation, lung compression, and gas exchange.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Global Diving Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Frants H. Jensen
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Peter L. Tyack
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Randall S. Wells
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, United States
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Garcia Párraga D, Moore M, Fahlman A. Pulmonary ventilation-perfusion mismatch: a novel hypothesis for how diving vertebrates may avoid the bends. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20180482. [PMID: 29695441 PMCID: PMC5936736 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrostatic lung compression in diving marine mammals, with collapsing alveoli blocking gas exchange at depth, has been the main theoretical basis for limiting N2 uptake and avoiding gas emboli (GE) as they ascend. However, studies of beached and bycaught cetaceans and sea turtles imply that air-breathing marine vertebrates may, under unusual circumstances, develop GE that result in decompression sickness (DCS) symptoms. Theoretical modelling of tissue and blood gas dynamics of breath-hold divers suggests that changes in perfusion and blood flow distribution may also play a significant role. The results from the modelling work suggest that our current understanding of diving physiology in many species is poor, as the models predict blood and tissue N2 levels that would result in severe DCS symptoms (chokes, paralysis and death) in a large fraction of natural dive profiles. In this review, we combine published results from marine mammals and turtles to propose alternative mechanisms for how marine vertebrates control gas exchange in the lung, through management of the pulmonary distribution of alveolar ventilation ([Formula: see text]) and cardiac output/lung perfusion ([Formula: see text]), varying the level of [Formula: see text] in different regions of the lung. Man-made disturbances, causing stress, could alter the [Formula: see text] mismatch level in the lung, resulting in an abnormally elevated uptake of N2, increasing the risk for GE. Our hypothesis provides avenues for new areas of research, offers an explanation for how sonar exposure may alter physiology causing GE and provides a new mechanism for how air-breathing marine vertebrates usually avoid the diving-related problems observed in human divers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael Moore
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, 46013 Valencia, Spain
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Portugues C, Crespo-Picazo JL, García-Párraga D, Altimiras J, Lorenzo T, Borque-Espinosa A, Fahlman A. Impact of gas emboli and hyperbaric treatment on respiratory function of loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta). Conserv Physiol 2018; 6:cox074. [PMID: 29340152 PMCID: PMC5765562 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cox074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Revised: 11/18/2017] [Accepted: 11/24/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Fisheries interactions are the most serious threats for sea turtle populations. Despite the existence of some rescue centres providing post-traumatic care and rehabilitation, adequate treatment is hampered by the lack of understanding of the problems incurred while turtles remain entrapped in fishing gears. Recently it was shown that bycaught loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) could experience formation of gas emboli (GE) and develop decompression sickness (DCS) after trawl and gillnet interaction. This condition could be reversed by hyperbaric O2 treatment (HBOT). The goal of this study was to assess how GE alters respiratory function in bycaught turtles before recompression therapy and measure the improvement after this treatment. Specifically, we assessed the effect of DCS on breath duration, expiratory and inspiratory flow and tidal volume (VT), and the effectiveness of HBOT to improve these parameters. HBOT significantly increased respiratory flows by 32-45% while VT increased by 33-35% immediately after HBOT. Repeated lung function testing indicated a temporal increase in both respiratory flow and VT for all bycaught turtles, but the changes were smaller than those seen immediately following HBOT. The current study suggests that respiratory function is significantly compromised in bycaught turtles with GE and that HBOT effectively restores lung function. Lung function testing may provide a novel means to help diagnose the presence of GE, be used to assess treatment efficacy, and contribute to sea turtle conservation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyril Portugues
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005Valencia, Spain
- AVIAN Behavioral Genomics and Physiology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology,Linköping University, Linköping 581 83, Sweden
| | - Jose Luis Crespo-Picazo
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005Valencia, Spain
| | - Daniel García-Párraga
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005Valencia, Spain
| | - Jordi Altimiras
- AVIAN Behavioral Genomics and Physiology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology,Linköping University, Linköping 581 83, Sweden
| | - Teresa Lorenzo
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005Valencia, Spain
| | - Alicia Borque-Espinosa
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005Valencia, Spain
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Zoology Department, University of Valencia. Doctor Moliner n° 50, 46100 Valencia, Spain
- Grupo de Investigación Biomédica en Imagen GIBI230, Radiology Department, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Av. Bulevard Sur, 46026 Valencia, Spain
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005Valencia, Spain
- Grupo de Investigación Biomédica en Imagen GIBI230, Radiology Department, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Av. Bulevard Sur, 46026 Valencia, Spain
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Fahlman A, Brodsky M, Wells R, McHugh K, Allen J, Barleycorn A, Sweeney JC, Fauquier D, Moore M. Field energetics and lung function in wild bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay Florida. R Soc Open Sci 2018; 5:171280. [PMID: 29410836 PMCID: PMC5792913 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We measured respiratory flow rates, and expired O2 in 32 (2-34 years, body mass [Mb] range: 73-291 kg) common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) during voluntary breaths on land or in water (between 2014 and 2017). The data were used to measure the resting O2 consumption rate ([Formula: see text], range: 0.76-9.45 ml O2 min-1 kg-1) and tidal volume (VT, range: 2.2-10.4 l) during rest. For adult dolphins, the resting VT, but not [Formula: see text], correlated with body mass (Mb, range: 141-291 kg) with an allometric mass-exponent of 0.41. These data suggest that the mass-specific VT of larger dolphins decreases considerably more than that of terrestrial mammals (mass-exponent: 1.03). The average resting [Formula: see text] was similar to previously published metabolic measurements from the same species. Our data indicate that the resting metabolic rate for a 150 kg dolphin would be 3.9 ml O2 min-1 kg-1, and the metabolic rate for active animals, assuming a multiplier of 3-6, would range from 11.7 to 23.4 ml O2 min-1 kg-1.\absbreak Our measurements provide novel data for resting energy use and respiratory physiology in wild cetaceans, which may have significant value for conservation efforts and for understanding the bioenergetic requirements of this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanografic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
- Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Rd., MS# 50, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1050, USA
| | - M. Brodsky
- Micah Brodsky, V.M.D. Consulting, Miami Shores, FL 33138, USA
| | - R. Wells
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA
| | - K. McHugh
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA
| | - J. Allen
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA
| | - A. Barleycorn
- Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA
| | - J. C. Sweeney
- Dolphin Quest, Oahu, 5000 Kahala Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA
| | - D. Fauquier
- Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, Office of Protected Resources, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13620, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - M. Moore
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Rd., MS# 50, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1050, USA
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Fahlman A, Crespo-Picazo JL, Sterba-Boatwright B, Stacy BA, Garcia-Parraga D. Defining risk variables causing gas embolism in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) caught in trawls and gillnets. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2739. [PMID: 28572687 PMCID: PMC5453929 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02819-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Incidental capture, or 'bycatch' in fishing gear is a major global threat to sea turtle populations. A recent study showed that underwater entrapment in fishing gear followed by rapid decompression may cause gas bubble formation within the blood stream (embolism) and tissues leading to organ injury, impairment, and even mortality in some bycaught individuals. We analyzed data from 128 capture events using logistic and ordinal regression to examine risk factors associated with gas embolism in sea turtles captured in trawls and gillnets. Likelihood of fatal decompression increases with increasing depth of gear deployment. A direct relationship was found between depth, risk and severity of embolism, which has not been previously demonstrated in any breath-hold diving species. For the trawl fishery in this study, an average trawl depth of 65 m was estimated to result in 50% mortality in by-caught turtles throughout the year. This finding is critical for a more accurate estimation of sea turtle mortality rates resulting from different fisheries and for devising efforts to avoid or minimize the harmful effects of capture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Jose Luis Crespo-Picazo
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Brian A Stacy
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine (duty station), Post Office Box 110885, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Daniel Garcia-Parraga
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
In this Review, we focus on the functional properties of the respiratory system of pinnipeds and cetaceans, and briefly summarize the underlying anatomy; in doing so, we provide an overview of what is currently known about their respiratory physiology and mechanics. While exposure to high pressure is a common challenge among breath-hold divers, there is a large variation in respiratory anatomy, function and capacity between species – how are these traits adapted to allow the animals to withstand the physiological challenges faced during dives? The ultra-deep diving feats of some marine mammals defy our current understanding of respiratory physiology and lung mechanics. These animals cope daily with lung compression, alveolar collapse, transient hyperoxia and extreme hypoxia. By improving our understanding of respiratory physiology under these conditions, we will be better able to define the physiological constraints imposed on these animals, and how these limitations may affect the survival of marine mammals in a changing environment. Many of the respiratory traits to survive exposure to an extreme environment may inspire novel treatments for a variety of respiratory problems in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanográfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia 19, Valencia 46005, Spain
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
| | - Michael J. Moore
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Daniel Garcia-Parraga
- Fundación Oceanográfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marques del Turia 19, Valencia 46005, Spain
- Oceanográfic-Avanqua, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia 46013, Spain
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50
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Fahlman A, van der Hoop J, Moore MJ, Levine G, Rocho-Levine J, Brodsky M. Response to 'On the importance of understanding physiology when estimating energetics in cetaceans'. Biol Open 2017; 6:307-308. [PMID: 28202473 PMCID: PMC5312109 DOI: 10.1242/bio.023143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Summary: Our paper highlights how temporal changes in tidal volume and the oxygen exchange ratio significantly affect the accuracy of models that use only breathing frequency to estimate metabolic rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic, c/Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005, Valencia, Spain .,Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
| | - J van der Hoop
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - M J Moore
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Rd, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - G Levine
- Dolphin Quest, Oahu, 5000 Kahala Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA
| | - J Rocho-Levine
- Dolphin Quest, Oahu, 5000 Kahala Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA
| | - M Brodsky
- V.M.D. Consulting, Miami, FL 33138, USA
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