Premium
Estimating maximal force output of cetaceans using axial locomotor muscle morphology
Author(s) -
Arthur Logan H.,
Mclellan William A.,
Piscitelli Marina A.,
Rommel Sentiel A.,
Woodward Becky L.,
Winn Jeremy P.,
Potter Charles W.,
Ann Pabst D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
marine mammal science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.723
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1748-7692
pISSN - 0824-0469
DOI - 10.1111/mms.12230
Subject(s) - thrust , whale , biology , drag , bottlenose dolphin , cetacea , range (aeronautics) , anatomy , fishery , physics , mechanics , materials science , composite material , thermodynamics
Cetaceans span a large range of body sizes and include species with the largest known locomotor muscles. To date, force output and thrust production have only been directly measured in the common bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ), although thrust forces have been hydrodynamically modeled for some whales. In this study, two metrics of epaxial muscle size—cross‐sectional area ( CSA ) and mass—were used to estimate force output for 22 species ( n = 83 specimens) ranging in size from bottlenose dolphins to blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus ). Relative to total body length ( TL ), maximum force output estimated based upon both muscle CSA ( TL 1.56 ± 0.05 ) and mass ( TL 2.64 ± 0.07 ) scaled at rates lower than those predicted by geometric scaling, suggesting relative force output decreases with increasing body size in cetaceans. Estimated maximal force outputs were compared to both published drag forces and to the breaking strengths of commercial fishing lines known to entangle whales. The breaking strengths of these lines are within the same order of magnitude, and in some cases, exceed the estimated maximal force output of whales. These results suggest that while powerful animals, large whales may be unable to break the extremely strong fishing line used today.