Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Drivers of the dive response in trained harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). / Elmegaard, Siri L.; McDonald, Birgitte I.; Madsen, Peter T.
In: The Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol. 222, 2019.Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Drivers of the dive response in trained harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
AU - Elmegaard, Siri L.
AU - McDonald, Birgitte I.
AU - Madsen, Peter T.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Pronounced dive responses through peripheral vasoconstriction and bradycardia enable prolonged apnoea in marine mammals. For most vertebrates, the dive response is initiated upon face immersion, but little is known about the physical drivers of diving and surfacing heart rate in cetaceans whose faces are always mostly submerged. Using two trained harbour porpoises instrumented with an ECG-measuring sound-and-movement tag (DTAG-3), we investigated the initiation and progression of bradycardia and tachycardia during apnoea and eupnoea for varying levels of immersion. We show that paranasal wetting drives bradycardia initiation and progression, whereas apnoea leads to dive-level bradycardia eventually, but not instantly. At the end of dives, heart rate accelerates independently of lung expansion, perhaps in anticipation of surfacing; however, full tachycardia is only engaged upon inhalation. We conclude that breathing drives surface tachycardia, whereas blowhole wetting is an important driver of bradycardia; however, anticipatory/volitional modulation can overrule such responses to sensory inputs.
AB - Pronounced dive responses through peripheral vasoconstriction and bradycardia enable prolonged apnoea in marine mammals. For most vertebrates, the dive response is initiated upon face immersion, but little is known about the physical drivers of diving and surfacing heart rate in cetaceans whose faces are always mostly submerged. Using two trained harbour porpoises instrumented with an ECG-measuring sound-and-movement tag (DTAG-3), we investigated the initiation and progression of bradycardia and tachycardia during apnoea and eupnoea for varying levels of immersion. We show that paranasal wetting drives bradycardia initiation and progression, whereas apnoea leads to dive-level bradycardia eventually, but not instantly. At the end of dives, heart rate accelerates independently of lung expansion, perhaps in anticipation of surfacing; however, full tachycardia is only engaged upon inhalation. We conclude that breathing drives surface tachycardia, whereas blowhole wetting is an important driver of bradycardia; however, anticipatory/volitional modulation can overrule such responses to sensory inputs.
KW - Anticipation
KW - Bradycardia
KW - Cetacean
KW - Heart rate
KW - Submersion
KW - Tachycardia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072905352&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1242/jeb.208637
DO - 10.1242/jeb.208637
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 31511341
AN - SCOPUS:85072905352
VL - 222
JO - BRITISH JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
JF - BRITISH JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
SN - 0022-0949
ER -