Semiaquatic taxa, including humans, often swim at the air-water interface where they waste energy generating surface waves. For fully marine animals however, theory predicts the most cost-efficient depth-use pattern for migrating, air-breathing species that do not feed in transit is to travel at around 2 to 3 times the depth of their body diameter, to minimize the vertical distance traveled while avoiding wave drag close to the surface. This has rarely been examined, however, due to depth measurement resolution issues at the surface. Here, we present evidence for the use of this strategy in the wild to the nearest centimeter and document the switch to shallow swimming during naturally occurring long-distance migrations. Using high-resolution depth-accelerometry and video data for little penguins () and loggerhead turtles (), satellite-relayed data for green turtles (), and literature data for further sea turtle, penguin, and whale species, we show that near-surface swimming is likely used broadly across nonforaging diving animals to minimize the cost of transport.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2413768121 | DOI Listing |
Nutrients
December 2024
School of Physical Education and Sports Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Background: Nutritional supplements are widely used by swimmers, but the effectiveness of various supplements and the identification of the most effective intervention require further investigation.
Purpose: This paper evaluated and compared the effectiveness of various nutrition-based interventions on swimming performance through both direct and indirect comparisons.
Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus databases were thoroughly searched up to 4 April 2024.
Soft Matter
January 2025
Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France.
In 1951, G. I. Taylor modeled swimming microorganisms by hypothesizing an infinite sheet in 2D moving in a viscous medium due to a wave passing through it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnim Welf
December 2024
Macquarie University, School of Natural Sciences, Australia.
Globally, Siamese fighting fish () continue to be sold and kept in small, barren jars or tanks, with little concern for their welfare. This study aimed to examine the impact of housing size and furnishings (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Physical Education, States University of Pará, Pará, Brazil.
It is well known that elite athletes of specific ethnicities and/or nationalities dominate certain sports disciplines (e.g., East Africans in marathon running).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZoological Lett
January 2025
National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Exploratory Research Center On Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan.
In vertebrates, skeletal muscle comprises fast and slow fibers. Slow and fast muscle cells in fish are spatially segregated; slow muscle cells are located only in a superficial region, and comprise a small fraction of the total muscle cell mass. Slow muscles support low-speed, low-force movements, while fast muscles are responsible for high-speed, high-force movements.
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