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ABSTRACT: Temperatures were recorded at several body sites in emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) diving at an isolated dive hole in order to document temperature profiles during diving and to evaluate the role of hypothermia in this well-studied model of penguin diving physiology. Grand mean temperatures (+/-S.E.) in central body sites during dives were: stomach: 37.1+/-0.2 degrees C (n=101 dives in five birds), pectoral muscle: 37.8+/-0.1 degrees C (n=71 dives in three birds) and axillary/brachial veins: 37.9+/-0.1 degrees C (n=97 dives in three birds). Mean diving temperature and duration correlated negatively at only one site in one bird (femoral vein, r=-0.59, P<0.05; range <1 degrees C). In contrast, grand mean temperatures in the wing vein, foot vein and lumbar subcutaneous tissue during dives were 7.6+/-0.7 degrees C (n=157 dives in three birds), 20.2+/-1.2 degrees C (n=69 in three birds) and 35.2+/-0.2 degrees C (n=261 in six birds), respectively. Mean limb temperature during dives negatively correlated with diving duration in all six birds (r=-0.29 to -0.60, P<0.05). In two of six birds, mean diving subcutaneous temperature negatively correlated with diving duration (r=-0.49 and -0.78, P<0.05). Sub-feather temperatures decreased from 31 to 35 degrees C during rest periods to a grand mean of 15.0+/-0.7 degrees C during 68 dives of three birds; mean diving temperature and duration correlated negatively in one bird (r=-0.42, P<0.05). In general, pectoral, deep venous and even stomach temperatures during diving reflected previously measured vena caval temperatures of 37-39 degrees C more closely than the anterior abdominal temperatures (19-30 degrees C) recently recorded in diving emperors. Although prey ingestion can result in cooling in the stomach, these findings and the lack of negative correlations between internal temperatures and diving duration do not support a role for hypothermia-induced metabolic suppression of the abdominal organs as a mechanism of extension of aerobic dive time in emperor penguins diving at the isolated dive hole. Such high temperatures within the body and the observed decreases in limb, anterior abdomen, subcutaneous and sub-feather temperatures are consistent with preservation of core temperature and cooling of an outer body shell secondary to peripheral vasoconstriction, decreased insulation of the feather layer, and conductive/convective heat loss to the water environment during the diving of these emperor penguins.
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part A Molecular & Integrative Physiology 08/2003; 135(3):477-87. · 2.23 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Inferior vena caval (IVC) and anterior abdominal (AA) temperatures were recorded in seven emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) foraging under sea ice in order to evaluate the hypothesis that hypothermia-induced metabolic suppression might extend aerobic diving time. Diving durations ranged from 1 to 12.5 min, with 39% of dives greater than the measured aerobic dive limit of 5.6 min. Anterior abdominal temperature decreased progressively throughout dives, and partially returned to pre-dive values during surface intervals. The lowest AA temperature was 19 degrees C. However, mean AA temperatures during dives did not correlate with diving durations. In six of seven penguins, only minor fluctuations in IVC temperatures occurred during diving. These changes were often elevations in temperature. In the one exception, although IVC temperatures decreased, the reductions were less than those in the anterior abdomen and did not correlate with diving durations. Because of these findings, we consider it unlikely that regional hypothermia in emperor penguins leads to a significant reduction in oxygen consumption of the major organs within the abdominal core. Rather, temperature profiles during dives are consistent with a model of regional heterothermy with conservation of core temperature, peripheral vasoconstriction, and cooling of an outer body shell.
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part A Molecular & Integrative Physiology 08/2001; 129(4):811-20. · 2.23 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) were equipped with a remote underwater video camera, the Crittercam, to evaluate sub-ice foraging behavior while the birds dived from an isolated dive hole. Three birds dived and foraged successfully for 1 h periods after being trained to wear and to dive with a harness for camera attachment. Video and depth profile recordings revealed that emperor penguins travel at shallow depths (<50 m), ascend to the undersurface of the ice to feed on fish, and descend back to depth to return to the exit hole. Although the mean durations of dives of individual birds with the Crittercam were 21-35 % shorter than the diving durations of these same birds without the camera, the dive profiles in both situations were similar, thus demonstrating a similar foraging strategy in birds diving without the camera. Despite shorter diving durations with the camera, the penguins were still successful at prey capture in 80 % of 91 dives greater than 1 min in duration. Prey included the sub-ice fish Pagothenia borchgrevinki. Hunting ascents (from depth to within 5 m of the surface) occurred in 85 % of dives, ranged from zero to three per dive, and were associated with successful prey capture in 77 % of 128 ascents. Occasionally, several fish were captured during a single ascent. These observations and this application of video technology create a model for further physiological and behavioral studies of foraging, and also emphasize the potential importance of shallow dives as sources of food intake for emperor penguins during foraging trips to sea.
Journal of Experimental Biology 12/2000; 203(Pt 21):3275-8. · 3.00 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Inferior vena caval (IVC) and anterior abdominal (AA) temperatures were recorded in seven emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) foraging under sea ice in order to evaluate the hypothesis that hypothermia-induced metabolic suppression might extend aerobic diving time. Diving durations ranged from 1 to 12.5 min, with 39% of dives greater than the measured aerobic dive limit of 5.6 min. Anterior abdominal temperature decreased progressively throughout dives, and partially returned to pre-dive values during surface intervals. The lowest AA temperature was 19°C. However, mean AA temperatures during dives did not correlate with diving durations. In six of seven penguins, only minor fluctuations in IVC temperatures occurred during diving. These changes were often elevations in temperature. In the one exception, although IVC temperatures decreased, the reductions were less than those in the anterior abdomen and did not correlate with diving durations. Because of these findings, we consider it unlikely that regional hypothermia in emperor penguins leads to a significant reduction in oxygen consumption of the major organs within the abdominal core. Rather, temperature profiles during dives are consistent with a model of regional heterothermy with conservation of core temperature, peripheral vasoconstriction, and cooling of an outer body shell.
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology.
