Q. 3) Diving physiology (two parts) a. What is the "Mammalian Dive Response"? Explain in detail each of the stages that make up the dive response and how these aid in diving. Do diving marine mammals get the "bends"? Why or why not? The mammalian dive response is a series of stages that a mammal goes through before, during, and after a dive. These include cessation of breathing(they just stop breathing and are underwater so they can’t anyway), extreme bradycardia(meaning very slow heart beat) regardless of dive duration, strong peripheral and some central vasoconstriction(constricting the veins and increasing blood pressure, also moves blood away from less vital areas like limbs and more towards important areas like the brain), reduced aerobic …show more content…
As divers breathe in from their SCUBA tanks they are getting a constant build-up of nitrogen because they are constantly breathing it in. [g] One reason diving marine animals do not get the bends is because they do not have this constant input of nitrogen. These animals also have other strategies to avoid the bends and other illnesses caused by nitrogen, such as nitrogen narcosis, these can include: exhaling prior to a dive[g], and marine mammals often have collapsible lungs, “This would allow [marine mammals] to come up to the surface after a deep dive, take a gulp of air very quickly, and then return to a shallower depth to …show more content…
So the relative pressure experienced by the sperm whale that can be directly attributed to O2 would be the proportion of the final pressure that can be related to the percentage of O2 in the air above the water. The relative percentage of oxygen in the air above the water is 20%, although it is actually closer to 21% for simplicity it is best to just use 20% being as 21% is just an average anyway. The final pressure calculated in the above question was 114.4 atm, and taking 20% of this gives 22.88 atm of pressure that can directly be attributed to
For this experiment, it is important to be familiar with the diving reflex. The diving reflex is found in all mammals and is mainly focused with the preservation of oxygen. The diving reflex refers to an animal surviving underwater without oxygen. They survive longer underwater than on dry land. In order for animals to remain under water for a longer period of time, they use their stored oxygen, decrease oxygen consumption, use anaerobic metabolism, as well as aquatic respiration (Usenko 2017). As stated by Michael Panneton, the size of oxygen stores in animals will also limit aerobic dive capacity (Panneton 2013). The temperature of the water also plays a role. The colder the water is, the larger the diving reflex of oxygen.
Jefferson, T. A, M. A. Webber, and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine Mammals of the World, A Comprehensive Guide to their Identification. Amsterdam, Elsevier. p. 241-244.
Today, in addition to the bottlenose dolphins, the Navy program includes sea lions and white beluga whales. The sea lions have excellent hearing and can dive much deeper than dolphins. They are trained for marking mines and retrieving torpedoes or practice mines, all while being more efficient than human divers. The white beluga whales dive deeper than the sea lions to recover inert torpedoes and are currently on loan from Sea World.
The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.
To do a front dive a diver pushes his hips upward just slightly as he leaves the board. After he had begun to go up into the air, he throws his arms downward just enough to make is upper torso rotate around his hips. At the peak of the dive, the diver tightens his stomach muscles and pulls his legs up towards the sky, leaving his body in a perfect upside-down position to enter the water head-first.
There are an estimated 8,000 deaths per year in the United States from drowning. Near-drowning occurs anywhere from 2-20 times more frequently (for estimated 16,000-160,000 events per year)7. The definitions for drowning and near-drowning have for the longest time been very confusing to understand. Recent health officials have attempted to resolve some of this confusion by redefining drowning as “the process of experiencing respiratory insufficiency or difficulty following a submersion or immersion in a body of liquid.” Near-drowning has also been redefined as “survival from a drowning event which involved impaired consciousness or water inhalation for 24 hours or more”2. Both near drowning and near-drowning occur when someone experiences a submersion event. A submersion event is when someone, in this case a pediatric patient, experiences an unexpected submersion in water. When an unexpected submersion, regardless of water type (salt or fresh) occurs, the individual experiences breath hold, panic, and a struggle to resurface1. Humans, naturally, can only hold their breath for a short period of time. This prolonged breath hold results in hypoxia and eventually leads to involuntary gasping. As the individual attempts to gasp for air they sometimes aspirate7. This paper will attempt to look at the clinical presentation of a near-drowning patient who has suffered from a submersion event.
Prove It/Elaborate it (This helps the...because) - explain now the adaptation helps the animal survive: This adaptation helps the blob fish survive by both allowing it to withstand even higher pressures than normal for fish that live at the same depth as the blob fish, and allow it to conserve energy for hunting, instead of spending it for swimming.
The discoverer of the titanic, Dr Robert Ballard famously referred to the deep sea as ‘far more alien than going to mars or the moon.’ The deep sea is one of the largest virtually unexplored ecosystems on the planet; it is found at a depth of 1000 fathoms [1] and is subject to adverse changes in temperature, pressure and light penetration amongst other factors. Therefore as expected fish decrease in abundance, and species diversity. This trend is prominent as in order to survive the harsh conditions of the deep sea, fish need a number of specific adaptations. Allowing them to ultimately survive, feed, and reproduce.
A question that stumped me every time I walked by the giant blue whale hanging up at the Natural History Museum in New York City was, “Why are whales so huge?!” Years and years later, I have found the answer. Using the research paper entitled “Energetic Tradeoffs Control the Size Distribution of Aquatic Mammals,” published last month by leading scientist, professor William Gearty, as well as news article based off of his discoveries, the solution to my childhood puzzlement has been revealed.
The purpose of this experiment is to observe the mammalian dive reflex in 2 subjects’ measuring their heart rate, blood pressure, and % arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2).
Most reptiles have ventricles that are mostly separated, but still allow right to left shunting of the blood. Crocodiles have ventricles that are completely separated, but can still shunt blood between the pulmonary and systemic circuits (Axellson, Franklin). This shunting can be completed using the foramen of Panizza, which allows and regulates blood flow from either the left or right ventricle into the left or right aorta. Blood flows from the left ventricle to the right aorta, dorsal aorta, right subclavian artery and the common carotid artery. The right ventricle moves blood into the pulmonary trunk which then separates blood into the left and right pulmonary arteries (Axellson, Franklin). During diving, crocodiles develop a slight bradycardia and develop a right to left shunt once right ventricular pressure rises to a certain threshold. Resting rates of oxygen consumption are maintained and muscular lactate levels do not increase (Grigg). This ability to dive for extended periods of time is made possible by right to left shunting by way of the foramen of Panizza, in addition to the ability to maintain muscular lactate levels. Crocodilian hearts have the ability to keep oxygenated and deoxygenated blood within the heart. Blood pressures are also kept higher in the systemic circuit than the pulmonary circuit (Grigg). These heart adaptations are not seen in other reptiles, but rather in mammalian and avian
Several forces play significant roles in the movement of the human body through the water. The forces are drag, lift, gravity and buoyancy. Lift and drag are the main propulsive forces that are used by swimmers. Resistance, known as drag, can be broken into three main categories: frontal resistance, skin friction, and eddy resistance. The effect of buoyancy in swimming is best described by Archimedes’ principle: a body fully or partially submerged in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid that is displaced by the body.1 This effectively negates any effects that gravity might have on a swimmer. The rare exception to this is a swimmer with very little body fat, and this is overcome by keeping the lungs inflated to a certain degree at all times.
Give at least one reason why evolutionary theory has important implications for the study of brain and behavior. Evolutionary theory posits that all animal species are related to a single original ancestor and to one another, therefore it makes sense that the physical structure of the brain is largely similar across species and when one performs experiments on a laboratory mouse regarding the relationship between its brain and its behavior, one can extrapolate those results and assume they also apply to humans and other species. Define: bilateral symmetry ; segmentation. What is the critical difference in the organization of the nervous system in sea anemones and flatworms?
Oxygen has become essential over time but there is major difference in aquatic respiration versus land reparation in vertebrates. In osteichthyes (bony fish), the largest group of modern fish, counter current flow is required for the most efficient form of gas exchange and respiration when chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) use ram ventilation. Fish in general require a more efficient form of gas exchange then mammals because their medium, water, contains less than 1% dissolved oxygen compared to 2...
Scuba diving is the kind of diving that one uses a breathing apparatus under water, which acts as a gas supplier to the diver. It allows divers to stay under water longer than with breath-holding methods. While diving, one uses swim fins attached to the feet. Scuba diving is carried out for both recreational and professional reasons among them cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving and deep diving for recreation purposes. Professional diving is done by those at civil engineering department, naval diving and rescue reasons. I began as an open water diver, now am a rescue diver and hoping to master in diving (Robinson, page 2).