Behavioral inference of diving metabolic rate in free-ranging leatherback turtles

Corey Bradshaw, Clive McMahon, Graeme Hays

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    35 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Good estimates of metabolic rate in free-ranging animals are essential for understanding behavior, distribution, and abundance. For the critically endangered leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), one of the world's largest reptiles, there has been a long-standing debate over whether this species demonstrates any metabolic endothermy. In short, do leatherbacks have a purely ectothermic reptilian metabolic rate or one that is elevated as a result of regional endothermy? Recent measurements have provided the first estimates of field metabolic rate (FMR) in leatherback turtles using doubly labeled water; however, the technique is prohibitively expensive and logistically difficult and produces estimates that are highly variable across individuals in this species. We therefore examined dive duration and depth data collected for nine free-swimming leatherback turtles over long periods (up to 431 d) to infer aerobic dive limits (ADLs) based on the asymptotic increase in maximum dive duration with depth. From this index of ADL and the known mass-specific oxygen storage capacity (To2) of leatherbacks, we inferred diving metabolic rate (DMR) as To2/ADL. We predicted that if leatherbacks conform to the purely ectothermic reptilian model of oxygen consumption, these inferred estimates of DMR should fall between predicted and measured values of reptilian resting and field metabolic rates, as well as being substantially lower than the FMR predicted for an endotherm of equivalent mass. Indeed, our behaviorally derived DMR estimates (mean = 0.73 � 0.11 mL O2 min -1 kg-1) were 3.00 � 0.54 times the resting metabolic rate measured in unrestrained leatherbacks and 0.50 � 0.08 times the average FMR for a reptile of equivalent mass. These DMRs were also nearly one order of magnitude lower than the FMR predicted for an endotherm of equivalent mass. Thus, our findings lend support to the notion that diving leatherback turtles are indeed ectothermic and do not demonstrate elevated metabolic rates that might be expected due to regional endothermy. Their capacity to have a warm body core even in cold water therefore seems to derive from their large size, heat exchangers, thermal inertia, and insulating fat layers and not from an elevated metabolic rate. � 2007 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)209-219
    Number of pages11
    JournalPhysiological and Biochemical Zoology
    Volume80
    Issue number2
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Behavioral inference of diving metabolic rate in free-ranging leatherback turtles'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this