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Lung function assessment in the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) while resting on land and submerged in water.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Borque-Espinosa, A; Ferrero-Fernández, D; Capaccioni Azzati, R; Fahlman, A
Published in: The Journal of experimental biology
January 2020

In the present study, we examined lung function in healthy resting adult (born in 2003) Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) by measuring respiratory flow (V̇) using a custom-made pneumotachometer. Three female walruses (670 - 1025 kg) voluntarily participated in spirometry trials while spontaneously breathing on land (sitting and lying down in sternal recumbency) and floating in water. While sitting, two walruses performed active respiratory efforts, and one animal participated in lung compliance measurements. For spontaneous breaths, V̇ was lower when lying down (e.g. expiration: 7.1±1.2 l · s-1) as compared to when in water (9.9±1.4 l · s-1), while tidal volume (VT, 11.5±4.6 l), breath duration (4.6±1.4 s), and respiratory frequency (7.6±2.2 breaths · min-1) remained the same. The measured VT and specific dynamic lung compliance (0.32±0.07 cmH2O-1) for spontaneous breaths, were higher than those estimated for similarly sized terrestrial mammals. The VT increased with body mass (allometric mass-exponent=1.29) and ranged from 3 to 43% of the estimated total lung capacity (TLCest) for spontaneous breaths. When normalized for TLCest, the maximal expiratory V̇ (V̇exp) was higher than that estimated in phocids, but lower than that reported in cetaceans and the California sea lion. The V̇exp was maintained over all lung volumes during spontaneous and active respiratory manoeuvres. We conclude that location (water or land) affects lung function in the walrus and should be considered when studying respiratory physiology in semi-aquatic marine mammals.

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Published In

The Journal of experimental biology

DOI

EISSN

1477-9145

ISSN

0022-0949

Publication Date

January 2020

Related Subject Headings

  • Physiology
  • 11 Medical and Health Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
 

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Borque-Espinosa, A., Ferrero-Fernández, D., Capaccioni Azzati, R., & Fahlman, A. (2020). Lung function assessment in the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) while resting on land and submerged in water. The Journal of Experimental Biology. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.227389
Borque-Espinosa, A., D. Ferrero-Fernández, R. Capaccioni Azzati, and A. Fahlman. “Lung function assessment in the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) while resting on land and submerged in water.The Journal of Experimental Biology, January 2020. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.227389.
Borque-Espinosa A, Ferrero-Fernández D, Capaccioni Azzati R, Fahlman A. Lung function assessment in the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) while resting on land and submerged in water. The Journal of experimental biology. 2020 Jan;
Borque-Espinosa, A., et al. “Lung function assessment in the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) while resting on land and submerged in water.The Journal of Experimental Biology, Jan. 2020. Epmc, doi:10.1242/jeb.227389.
Borque-Espinosa A, Ferrero-Fernández D, Capaccioni Azzati R, Fahlman A. Lung function assessment in the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) while resting on land and submerged in water. The Journal of experimental biology. 2020 Jan;
Journal cover image

Published In

The Journal of experimental biology

DOI

EISSN

1477-9145

ISSN

0022-0949

Publication Date

January 2020

Related Subject Headings

  • Physiology
  • 11 Medical and Health Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences