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The development of diving bradycardia in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

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Abstract

Bradycardia is an important component of the dive response, yet little is known about this response in immature marine mammals. To determine if diving bradycardia improves with age, cardiac patterns from trained immature and mature bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were recorded during three conditions (stationary respiration, voluntary breath-hold, and shallow diving). Maximum (mean: 117±1 beats·min−1) and resting (mean: 101±5 beats·min−1) heart rate (HR) at the water surface were similar regardless of age. All dolphins lowered HR in response to apnea; mean steady state breath-hold HR was not correlated with age. However, the ability to reduce HR while diving improved with age. Minimum and mean steady state HR during diving were highest for calves. For example, 1.5–3.5-year-old calves had significantly higher mean steady state diving HR (51±1 beats·min−1) than 3.5–5.5-year-old juveniles (44±1 beats·min−1). As a result, older dolphins demonstrated greater overall reductions in HR during diving. Longitudinal studies concur; the ability to reduce HR improved as individual calves matured. Thus, although newly weaned calves as young as 1.7 years exhibit elements of cardiac control, the capacity to reduce HR while diving improves with maturation up to 3.5 years postpartum. Limited ability for bradycardia may partially explain the short dive durations observed for immature marine mammals.

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Abbreviations

ADL :

aerobic dive limit

cADL :

calculated aerobic dive limit

ECG :

electrocardiogram

HR :

heart rate

TDR :

time–depth recorder

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Acknowledgements

We thank C Allison and the trainers (J Albury, W Ast, P Berry, E Butler, M Callender, C Heidecker, G Kieffer, B Plunkett, D Stewart, and D Storr) at The Dolphin Experience (Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas) for training the dolphins for the experimental protocols, M Castellini, D Greaves, and P Ponganis for discussions regarding heart rate analyses, J Estes for statistical advice, and D Costa, S Kohin, D Noren, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on previous versions of this manuscript. Funding for this project was provided by grants awarded to SR Noren: Alan Baldridge Grant and Robert D. Bethel Award (The American Cetacean Society, Monterey Bay Chapter), American Women in Science Scholarship, Earl H. Myers and Ethel M. Myers Oceanographic and Marine Biology Trust, Friends of Long Marine Laboratory (UCSC), and Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research (Museum of Natural History). Additional funding provided by an Office of Naval Research grant (No. N00014-95-1-1023) awarded to TM Williams. A portion of this work was completed while SR Noren was a Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellow at the Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park. Methods were approved by the animal care and use committee at the University of California, Santa Cruz and comply with the current laws of the Bahamas and United States of America.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, Center for Ocean Health, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA

    S. R. Noren & T. M. Williams

  2. The Dolphin Experience, PO Box F42433, Freeport, Grand Bahamas Island, Bahamas

    V. Cuccurullo

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  1. S. R. Noren
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  2. V. Cuccurullo
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  3. T. M. Williams
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Correspondence to S. R. Noren.

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Communicated by L.C.-H. Wang

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Noren, S.R., Cuccurullo, V. & Williams, T.M. The development of diving bradycardia in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). J Comp Physiol B 174, 139–147 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-003-0398-9

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