Heart rate during overnight rest and while diving were recorded from five emperor penguins with a microprocessor-controlled submersible recorder. Heart rate, cardiac output and stroke volume were also measured in two resting emperor penguins using standard electrocardiography and thermodilution measurements. Swim velocities from eight birds were obtained with the submersible recorder. The resting average of the mean heart rates was 72 beats min-1. Diving heart rates were about 15% lower than resting rates. Cardiac outputs of 1.9-2.9 ml kg-1 s-1 and stroke volumes of 1.6-2.7 ml kg-1 were similar to values recorded from mammals of the same body mass. Swim velocities averaged 3 m s-1. The swim speeds and heart rates suggest that muscle O2 depletion must occur frequently: therefore, many dives require a significant energy contribution from anaerobic glycolysis.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
An accelerometer-derived ballistocardiogram method for detecting heart rate in free-ranging marine mammals
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Max Czapanskiy and co show how the resting heart rates of blue whales are immortalized in the accelerometry traces collected by motion sensing data tags.
Global change and physiological challenges for Amazonian fish
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In their Review, Adalberto Luis Val and Chris Wood discuss the physiological threats to the unique and diverse fish fauna of Amazonia.
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