Conservation energetics of beluga whales: using resting and swimming metabolism to understand threats to an endangered population.

The balance between energetic costs and acquisition in free-ranging species is essential for survival, and provides important insights regarding the physiological impact of anthropogenic disturbances on wild animals. For marine mammals such as beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), the first step in modeling this bioenergetic balance requires an examination of resting and active metabolic demands. Here, we used open-flow respirometry to measure oxygen consumption during surface rest and submerged swimming by trained beluga whales, and compared these measurements with those of a commonly studied odontocete, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

Metabolic trade-offs in tropical and subtropical marine mammals: unique maintenance and locomotion costs in West Indian manatees and Hawaiian monk seals.

Unlike the majority of marine mammal species, Hawaiian monk seals (Neomonachus schauinslandi) and West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) reside exclusively in tropical or subtropical waters. Although potentially providing an energetic benefit through reduced maintenance and thermal costs, little is known about the cascading effects that may alter energy expenditure during activity, dive responses and overall energy budgets for these warm-water species. To examine this, we used open-flow respirometry to measure the energy expended during resting and swimming in both species.

In-air hearing in Hawaiian monk seals: implications for understanding the auditory biology of Monachinae seals.

The auditory biology of Monachinae seals is poorly understood. Limited audiometric data and certain anatomical features suggest that these seals may have reduced sensitivity to airborne sounds compared to related species. Here, we describe the in-air hearing abilities of a Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus schauinslandi) trained to participate in a psychophysical paradigm.

Context Matters: Hawaiian Monk Seals Switch Between Feeding Strategies Depending on Ecological Context.

The ability to expand the behavioral repertoire past seemingly rigid morphological features enables animals to succeed in a variety of ecological contexts. The integration of morphology, performance, and behavior produces diverse animal feeding strategies. These different strategies reflect trade-offs between specialization, prey choice, and energetic expenditure, which have important consequences for understanding individual and population-level flexibility in response to environmental change.

Hawaiian monk seals exhibit behavioral flexibility when targeting prey of different size and shape.

Animals use diverse feeding strategies to capture and consume prey, with many species switching between strategies to accommodate different prey. Many marine animals exhibit behavioral flexibility when feeding to deal with spatial and temporal heterogeneity in prey resources. However, little is known about flexibility in the feeding behavior of many large marine predators.

Paradoxical escape responses by narwhals ().

Until recent declines in Arctic sea ice levels, narwhals () have lived in relative isolation from human perturbation and sustained predation pressures. The resulting naïvety has made this cryptic, deep-diving cetacean highly susceptible to disturbance, although quantifiable effects have been lacking. We deployed a submersible, animal-borne electrocardiograph-accelerometer-depth recorder to monitor physiological and behavioral responses of East Greenland narwhals after release from net entanglement and stranding.

Swimming and diving energetics in dolphins: a stroke-by-stroke analysis for predicting the cost of flight responses in wild odontocetes.

Exponential increases in hydrodynamic drag and physical exertion occur when swimmers move quickly through water, and underlie the preference for relatively slow routine speeds by marine mammals regardless of body size. Because of this and the need to balance limited oxygen stores when submerged, flight (escape) responses may be especially challenging for this group. To examine this, we used open-flow respirometry to measure the energetic cost of producing a swimming stroke during different levels of exercise in bottlenose dolphins ().

The high cost of reproduction in sea otters necessitates unique physiological adaptations.

Superimposed on inherently high basal metabolic demands, the additional energetic requirements of reproduction can push female sea otters beyond physiological limits. Indeed, the resulting energy imbalance contributes to disproportionately high rates of mortality at the end of lactation in this species. To examine and quantify metabolic changes associated with reproduction, we measured the resting metabolic rate (RMR) of a female sea otter across gestation, lactation and non-reproductive periods.

Exercise at depth alters bradycardia and incidence of cardiac anomalies in deep-diving marine mammals.

Unlike their terrestrial ancestors, marine mammals routinely confront extreme physiological and physical challenges while breath-holding and pursuing prey at depth. To determine how cetaceans and pinnipeds accomplish deep-sea chases, we deployed animal-borne instruments that recorded high-resolution electrocardiograms, behaviour and flipper accelerations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) diving from the surface to >200 m. Here we report that both exercise and depth alter the bradycardia associated with the dive response, with the greatest impacts at depths inducing lung collapse.

Mammalian energetics. Instantaneous energetics of puma kills reveal advantage of felid sneak attacks.

Pumas (Puma concolor) live in diverse, often rugged, complex habitats. The energy they expend for hunting must account for this complexity but is difficult to measure for this and other large, cryptic carnivores. We developed and deployed a physiological SMART (species movement, acceleration, and radio tracking) collar that used accelerometry to continuously monitor energetics, movements, and behavior of free-ranging pumas.