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Ponganis, PJ.  2007.  Bio-logging of physiological parameters in higher marine vertebrates. Deep-Sea Research Part Ii-Topical Studies in Oceanography. 54:183-192.   10.1016/j.dsr2.2006.11.009   AbstractWebsite

Bio-logging of physiological parameters in higher marine vertebrates had its origins in the field of bio-telemetry in the 1960s and 1970s. The development of microprocessor technology allowed its first application to bio-logging investigations of Weddell seal diving physiology in the early 1980s. Since that time, with the use of increased memory capacity, new sensor technology, and novel data processing techniques, investigators have examined heart rate, temperature, swim speed, stroke frequency, stomach function (gastric pH and motility), heat flux, muscle oxygenation, respiratory rate, diving air volume, and oxygen partial pressure (PO(2)) during diving. Swim speed, heart rate, and body temperature have been the most commonly studied parameters. Bio-logging investigation of pressure effects has only been conducted with the use of blood samplers and nitrogen analyses on animals diving at isolated dive holes. The advantages/disadvantages and limitations of recording techniques, probe placement, calibration techniques, and study conditions are reviewed. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.



Ponganis, PJ, Kooyman GL.  2000.  Diving physiology of birds: a history of studies on polar species. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology a-Molecular and Integrative Physiology. 126:143-151.   10.1016/s1095-6433(00)00208-7   AbstractWebsite

Our knowledge of avian diving physiology has been based primarily on research with polar species. Since Scholander's 1940 monograph, research has expanded from examination of the 'diving reflex' to studies of free-diving birds, and has included laboratory investigations of oxygen stores, muscle adaptations, pressure effects, and cardiovascular/metabolic responses to swimming exercise. Behavioral and energetic studies at sea have shown that common diving durations of many avian species exceed the calculated aerobic diving limits (ADL). Current physiological research is focused on factors, such as heart rate and temperature, which potentially affect the diving metabolic rate and duration of aerobic diving. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Ponganis, PJ, Stockard TK, Meir JU, Williams CL, Ponganis KV, Van Dam RP, Howard R.  2007.  Returning on empty: extreme blood O-2 depletion underlies dive capacity of emperor penguins. Journal of Experimental Biology. 210:4279-4285.   10.1242/jeb.011221   AbstractWebsite

Blood gas analyses from emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) at rest, and intravascular P-O2 profiles from free-diving birds were obtained in order to examine hypoxemic tolerance and utilization of the blood O-2 store during dives. Analysis of blood samples from penguins at rest revealed arterial P(O2)s and O-2 contents of 68 +/- 7 mmHg (1 mmHg= 133.3 Pa) and 22.5 +/- 1.3 ml O-2 dl(-1) (N= 3) and venous values of 41 +/- 10 mmHg and 17.4 +/- 2.9 ml O-2 dl(-1) (N= 9). Corresponding arterial and venous Hb saturations for a hemoglobin (Hb) concentration of 18 g dl(-1) were > 91% and 70%, respectively. Analysis of P-O2 profiles obtained from birds equipped with intravascular P-O2 electrodes and backpack recorders during dives revealed that (1) the decline of the final blood P-O2 of a dive in relation to dive duration was variable, (2) final venous P-O2 values spanned a 40-mmHg range at the previously measured aerobic dive limit (ADL; dive duration associated with onset of post-dive blood lactate accumulation), (3) final arterial, venous and previously measured air sac P-O2 values were indistinguishable in longer dives, and (4) final venous P-O2 values of longer dives were as low as 1-6 mmHg during dives. Although blood O-2 is not depleted at the ADL, nearly complete depletion of the blood O-2 store occurs in longer dives. This extreme hypoxemic tolerance, which would be catastrophic in many birds and mammals, necessitates biochemical and molecular adaptations, including a shift in the O-2-Hb dissociation curve of the emperor penguin in comparison to those of most birds. A relatively higher-affinity Hb is consistent with blood P-O2 values and O-2 contents of penguins at rest.

Ponganis, PJ, Meir JU, Williams CL.  2010.  Oxygen store depletion and the aerobic dive limit in emperor penguins. Aquatic Biology. 8:237-245.   10.3354/ab00216   AbstractWebsite

The aerobic dive limit (ADL), dive duration associated with the onset of post-dive blood lactate elevation, has been widely used in the interpretation of diving physiology and diving behavior. However, its physiological basis is incompletely understood, and in most studies, ADLs are simply calculated with an O(2) store/O(2) consumption formula. To better understand the ADL, research has been conducted on emperor penguins diving at an isolated dive hole. This work has revealed that O(2) stores are greater than previously estimated, and that the rate of depletion of those O(2) stores appears to be regulated primarily through a diving bradycardia and the efficiency of swimming. Blood and respiratory O(2) stores are not depleted at the 5.6 min ADL determined by post-dive blood lactate measurements. It is hypothesized that muscle, isolated from the circulation during a dive, is the primary source of lactate accumulation. To predict this 5.6 min ADL for these shallow dives at the isolated dive hole with the classic O(2) store/O(2) consumption formula, an O(2) consumption rate of 2x the predicted metabolic rate of a penguin at rest is required. In contrast, if the formula is used to calculate an ADL that is defined as the time for all consumable O(2) stores to be depleted, then a 23.1 min dive, in which final venous partial pressure of oxygen (P(O2)) was 6 mm Hg (0.8 kPa), represents such a maximum limit and demonstrates that an O(2) consumption rate of about 0.5x the predicted rate of an emperor penguin at rest is required in the formula.





Kooyman, GL, Ponganis PJ.  1998.  The physiological basis of diving to depth: Birds and mammals. Annual Review of Physiology. 60:19-32.   10.1146/annurev.physiol.60.1.19   AbstractWebsite


Knower Stockard, T, Heil J, Meir JU, Sato K, Ponganis KV, Ponganis PJ.  2005.  Air sac P-O2 and oxygen depletion during dives of emperor penguins. Journal of Experimental Biology. 208:2973-2980.   10.1242/jeb.01687   AbstractWebsite

In order to determine the rate and magnitude of respiratory O-2 depletion during dives of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), air sac O-2 partial pressure (PO2) was recorded in 73 dives of four birds at an isolated dive hole. These results were evaluated with respect to hypoxic tolerance, the aerobic dive limit (ADL; dive duration beyond which there is post-dive lactate accumulation) and previously measured field metabolic rates (FMRs). 55% of dives were greater in duration than the previously measured 5.6-min ADL. P-O2 and depth profiles revealed compression hyperoxia and gradual O-2 depletion during dives. 42% of final P(O2)s during the dives (recorded during the last 15 s of ascent) were < 20 mmHg (< 2.7 kPa). Assuming that the measured air sac P-O2 is representative of the entire respiratory system, this implies remarkable hypoxic tolerance in emperors. In dives of durations greater than the ADL, the calculated end-of-dive air sac O-2 fraction was < 4%. The respiratory O-2 store depletion rate of an entire dive, based on the change in O-2 fraction during a dive and previously measured diving respiratory volume, ranged from I to 5 ml O-2 kg(-1) min(-1) and decreased exponentially with diving duration. The mean value, 2.1 +/- 0.8 ml O-2 kg(-1) min(-1), was (1) 19-42% of previously measured respiratory O-2 depletion rates during forced submersions and simulated dives, (2) approximately one-third of the predicted total body resting metabolic rate and (3) approximately 10% of the measured FMR. These findings are consistent with a low total body metabolic rate during the dive.

Jobsis, PD, Ponganis PJ, Kooyman GL.  2001.  Effects of training on forced submersion responses in harbor seals. Journal of Experimental Biology. 204:3877-3885. AbstractWebsite

In several pinniped species, the heart rates observed during unrestrained dives are frequently higher than the severe bradycardias recorded during forced submersions. To examine other physiological components of the classic 'dive response' during such moderate bradycardias, a training protocol was developed to habituate harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) to short forced submersions. Significant changes were observed between physiological measurements made during naive and trained submersions (3-3.5min). Differences were found in measurements of heart rate during submersion (naive 18 +/-4.3 beats min(-1) versus trained 35 +/-3.4 beats min(-1)), muscle blood flow measured using laser-Doppler flowmetry (naive 1.8 +/-0.8 ml min(-1) 100 g(-1) versus trained 5.8 +/-3.9 ml min(-1) 100 g(-1)), change in venous P-O 2 (naive -0.44 +/-1.25 kPa versus trained -1.48 +/-0.76 kPa) and muscle deoxygenation rate (naive -0.67 +/-0.27 mvd s(-1) versus trained -0.51 +/-0.18 mvd s(-1), a relative measure of muscle oxygenation provided by the Vander Niroscope, where mvd are milli-vander units). In contrast to the naive situation, the post-submersion increase in plasma lactate levels was only rarely significant in trained seals. Resting eupneic (while breathing) heart rate and total oxygen consumption rates (measured in two seals) were not significantly different between the naive and trained states. This training protocol revealed that the higher heart rate and greater muscle blood flow in the trained seals were associated with a lower muscle deoxygenation rate, presumably secondary to greater extraction of blood O-2 during trained submersions. Supplementation of muscle oxygenation by blood O-2 delivery during diving would increase the rate of blood O-2 depletion but could prolong the duration of aerobic muscle metabolism during diving. This alteration of the dive response may increase the metabolic efficiency of diving.