Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Glarou, Maria, Christiansen, Fredrik, Iwata, Takashi, Basran, Charla J, Ruppert, Silva Naomi Sophie, Sotiropoulou, Dido, Iversen, Maria Refsgaard, Akamatsu, Tomonari, Schnitzler, Joseph G, Siebert, Ursula, Rasmussen, Marianne Helene
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41385091/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1868266114413232129
author Glarou, Maria
Christiansen, Fredrik
Iwata, Takashi
Basran, Charla J
Ruppert, Silva Naomi Sophie
Sotiropoulou, Dido
Iversen, Maria Refsgaard
Akamatsu, Tomonari
Schnitzler, Joseph G
Siebert, Ursula
Rasmussen, Marianne Helene
author_facet Glarou, Maria
Christiansen, Fredrik
Iwata, Takashi
Basran, Charla J
Ruppert, Silva Naomi Sophie
Sotiropoulou, Dido
Iversen, Maria Refsgaard
Akamatsu, Tomonari
Schnitzler, Joseph G
Siebert, Ursula
Rasmussen, Marianne Helene
Glarou, Maria
Christiansen, Fredrik
Iwata, Takashi
Basran, Charla J
Ruppert, Silva Naomi Sophie
Sotiropoulou, Dido
Iversen, Maria Refsgaard
Akamatsu, Tomonari
Schnitzler, Joseph G
Siebert, Ursula
Rasmussen, Marianne Helene
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Respiration rates and inferred mass-specific field metabolic rates decline with body size among five sympatric cetaceans. Glarou, Maria Christiansen, Fredrik Iwata, Takashi Basran, Charla J Ruppert, Silva Naomi Sophie Sotiropoulou, Dido Iversen, Maria Refsgaard Akamatsu, Tomonari Schnitzler, Joseph G Siebert, Ursula Rasmussen, Marianne Helene Animals Body Size Basal Metabolism Sympatry Cetacea Whales Dolphins Energy Metabolism Respiratory Rate Species Specificity Metabolic rates in animals scale allometrically with body mass, a relationship well-established in terrestrial mammals. Whether these scaling laws apply to fully aquatic mammals remains uncertain, due to key physiological and ecological differences. We estimated field metabolic rates (FMRs) for five sympatric cetaceans of varying sizes, inhabiting sub-Arctic Icelandic waters: harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena; mean body length ± s.d = 1.35 ± 0.19 m), white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris; 2.42 ± 0.17 m), minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata; 7.53 ± 0.82 m), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae; 9.44 ± 1.13 m) and blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus; 21.97 ± 0.96 m). Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry and published data were used to estimate body size, while respiration rates (breathes min) were obtained from UAV focal follows, biologging tags, and literature sources. From these data we predicted daily FMRs (MJ day) using existing bioenergetic models. As expected, mass-specific FMR declined with increasing body size among species, consistent with scaling laws. However, FMRs across all species were elevated relative to terrestrial predictions, likely reflecting the greater energetic demands of aquatic life. FMR also scaled positively with the surface-area-to-volume ratio (SVR) of each species, supporting the hypothesis that thermoregulatory costs are driven by body shape and size, and influence energy expenditure. This was further supported by the positive relationship between FMR and heat loss rates. Overall, our findings suggest that large mysticetes benefit from reduced mass-specific FMRs, enabling long migrations and extended fasting that broaden their habitat use. Smaller cetaceans face higher metabolic demands and may be more dependent on smaller, prey-rich habitats. These size-dependent energetic constraints may influence species plasticity and vulnerability to environmental changes.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_41385091
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Respiration rates and inferred mass-specific field metabolic rates decline with body size among five sympatric cetaceans.
Glarou, Maria
Christiansen, Fredrik
Iwata, Takashi
Basran, Charla J
Ruppert, Silva Naomi Sophie
Sotiropoulou, Dido
Iversen, Maria Refsgaard
Akamatsu, Tomonari
Schnitzler, Joseph G
Siebert, Ursula
Rasmussen, Marianne Helene
Animals
Body Size
Basal Metabolism
Sympatry
Cetacea
Whales
Dolphins
Energy Metabolism
Respiratory Rate
Species Specificity
Respiration rates and inferred mass-specific field metabolic rates decline with body size among five sympatric cetaceans. Glarou, Maria Christiansen, Fredrik Iwata, Takashi Basran, Charla J Ruppert, Silva Naomi Sophie Sotiropoulou, Dido Iversen, Maria Refsgaard Akamatsu, Tomonari Schnitzler, Joseph G Siebert, Ursula Rasmussen, Marianne Helene Animals Body Size Basal Metabolism Sympatry Cetacea Whales Dolphins Energy Metabolism Respiratory Rate Species Specificity Metabolic rates in animals scale allometrically with body mass, a relationship well-established in terrestrial mammals. Whether these scaling laws apply to fully aquatic mammals remains uncertain, due to key physiological and ecological differences. We estimated field metabolic rates (FMRs) for five sympatric cetaceans of varying sizes, inhabiting sub-Arctic Icelandic waters: harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena; mean body length ± s.d = 1.35 ± 0.19 m), white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris; 2.42 ± 0.17 m), minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata; 7.53 ± 0.82 m), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae; 9.44 ± 1.13 m) and blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus; 21.97 ± 0.96 m). Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry and published data were used to estimate body size, while respiration rates (breathes min) were obtained from UAV focal follows, biologging tags, and literature sources. From these data we predicted daily FMRs (MJ day) using existing bioenergetic models. As expected, mass-specific FMR declined with increasing body size among species, consistent with scaling laws. However, FMRs across all species were elevated relative to terrestrial predictions, likely reflecting the greater energetic demands of aquatic life. FMR also scaled positively with the surface-area-to-volume ratio (SVR) of each species, supporting the hypothesis that thermoregulatory costs are driven by body shape and size, and influence energy expenditure. This was further supported by the positive relationship between FMR and heat loss rates. Overall, our findings suggest that large mysticetes benefit from reduced mass-specific FMRs, enabling long migrations and extended fasting that broaden their habitat use. Smaller cetaceans face higher metabolic demands and may be more dependent on smaller, prey-rich habitats. These size-dependent energetic constraints may influence species plasticity and vulnerability to environmental changes.
title Respiration rates and inferred mass-specific field metabolic rates decline with body size among five sympatric cetaceans.
topic Animals
Body Size
Basal Metabolism
Sympatry
Cetacea
Whales
Dolphins
Energy Metabolism
Respiratory Rate
Species Specificity
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41385091/