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Heat production during diving in the fresh water turtle, Pseudemys scripta
Author(s) -
Jackson Donald C.,
SchmidtNielsen Knut
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.1040670204
Subject(s) - turtle (robot) , submersion (mathematics) , oxygen , anaerobic exercise , chemistry , respiration , production rate , zoology , biology , ecology , anatomy , physiology , industrial engineering , mathematical analysis , mathematics , organic chemistry , engineering , differentiable function
Abstract Heat production was measured calorimetrically in the turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans , (a) while submerged and (b) while partially submerged and breathing various gas mixtures. Submersion resulted in a profound reduction of heat production (80%). This reduction was not merely a response to the dive per se , but depended on the oxygen concentration available to the turtle prior to the onset of the dive. Heat production while breathing gas mixtures with different O 2 concentrations was unchanged down to 5% O 2 . At 3% O 2 , heat production was 50% of normal, and at 100% N 2 , it was 20% of normal. Uptake of dissolved O 2 from water was found to be 6% of the O 2 uptake from air by these turtles. These results suggest that following diving, there is a profound reduction in metabolic rate, but not until the O 2 stores are depleted. This low rate is primarily anaerobic and only a very low oxidative metabolism can be supported by O 2 extracted from the water.