hays-implicationsof-2004.pdf (358.06 kB)
The implications of lung-regulated buoyancy control for dive depth and duration
journal contribution
posted on 2004-04-01, 00:00 authored by Graeme HaysGraeme Hays, J Metcalfe, A WalneAmong air-breathing divers, control of buoyancy through lung volume regulation may be most highly developed in marine turtles. In short, the turtle lung may serve a dual role as both an oxygen store and in buoyancy control. A simple model is developed to show that, for turtles diving up to the maximum depth at which they can still use their lungs to attain neutral buoyancy, the total oxygen store will increase greatly with dive depth, and hence a corresponding increase in dive duration is predicted. Time–depth recorders attached to free-living green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at Ascension Island confirmed a marked increase in dive duration with depth, with the gradient of this relationship being >10 times that seen in diving birds and mammals. Consistent with the prediction that the lungs serve a dual role, we found that, when lead weights were added to some turtles to increase their specific gravity, the mean depth of dives decreased, but for dives to the same depth, weighted animals dived for longer. The depth distribution of green turtles seems to be generally constrained by the maximum depth at which they can still attain close to neutral buoyancy.
History
Journal
EcologyVolume
85Issue
4Pagination
1137 - 1145Publisher
Ecological Society of AmericaLocation
Ithaca, N.Y.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0012-9658eISSN
1939-9170Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2004, Ecological Society of AmericaUsage metrics
Keywords
Ascension Islandbirdbuoyancy controlChelonia mydasdepth selectiondivinggreen turtlemammalpenguinpinnipedsealScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineEcologyEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyTURTLE CHELONIA-MYDASNORTHERN ELEPHANT SEALSDIVING BEHAVIORCARETTA-CARETTAPHYSIOLOGYMAMMALSPATTERNSVOLUMEBIRDSEvolutionary BiologyEcology
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