SUMMARY
In several pinniped species, the heart rates observed during unrestrained dives are frequently higher than the severe bradycardias recorded during forced submersions. To examine other physiological components of the classic ‘dive response’ during such moderate bradycardias, a training protocol was developed to habituate harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) to short forced submersions. Significant changes were observed between physiological measurements made during naive and trained submersions (3–3.5 min). Differences were found in measurements of heart rate during submersion (naive 18±4.3 beats min–1versus trained 35±3.4 beats min–1), muscle blood flow measured using laser-Doppler flowmetry (naive 1.8±0.8 ml min–1 100 g–1versus trained 5.8±3.9 ml min–1 100 g–1), change in venous PO2 (naive –0.44±1.25 kPa versus trained –1.48±0.76 kPa) and muscle deoxygenation rate (naive –0.67±0.27 mvd s–1versus trained –0.51±0.18 mvd s–1, a relative measure of muscle oxygenation provided by the Vander Niroscope, where mvd are milli-vander units). In contrast to the naive situation, the post-submersion increase in plasma lactate levels was only rarely significant in trained seals. Resting eupneic (while breathing) heart rate and total oxygen consumption rates (measured in two seals) were not significantly different between the naive and trained states. This training protocol revealed that the higher heart rate and greater muscle blood flow in the trained seals were associated with a lower muscle deoxygenation rate, presumably secondary to greater extraction of blood O2 during trained submersions. Supplementation of muscle oxygenation by blood O2 delivery during diving would increase the rate of blood O2 depletion but could prolong the duration of aerobic muscle metabolism during diving. This alteration of the dive response may increase the metabolic efficiency of diving.
