Scaling of oscillatory kinematics and Froude efficiency in baleen whales
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Dokumenter
- Scaling of oscillatory kinematics and Froude efficiency in baleen whales
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High efficiency lunate-tail swimming with high-aspect-ratio lifting surfaces has evolved in many vertebrate lineages, from fish to cetaceans. Baleen whales (Mysticeti) are the largest swimming animals that exhibit this locomotor strategy, and present an ideal study system to examine how morphology and the kinematics of swimming scale to the largest body sizes. We used data from whale-borne inertial sensors coupled with morphometric measurements from aerial drones to calculate the hydrodynamic performance of oscillatory swimming in six baleen whale species ranging in body length from 5 to 25 m (fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus; Bryde's whale, Balaenoptera edeni; sei whale, Balaenoptera borealis; Antarctic minke whale, Balaenoptera bonaerensis; humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae; and blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus). We found that mass-specific thrust increased with both swimming speed and body size. Froude efficiency, defined as the ratio of useful power output to the rate of energy input (Sloop, 1978), generally increased with swimming speed but decreased on average with increasing body size. This finding is contrary to previous results in smaller animals, where Froude efficiency increased with body size. Although our empirically parameterized estimates for swimming baleen whale drag were higher than those of a simple gliding model, oscillatory locomotion at this scale exhibits generally high Froude efficiency as in other adept swimmers. Our results quantify the finescale kinematics and estimate the hydrodynamics of routine and energetically expensive swimming modes at the largest scale.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Artikelnummer | jeb237586 |
| Tidsskrift | Journal of Experimental Biology |
| Vol/bind | 224 |
| Udgave nummer | 13 |
| Antal sider | 13 |
| ISSN | 0022-0949 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 2021 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation in support of research experiences for undergraduates (REU) to CSUMB. Additionally, this research was funded in part by grants from the National Science Foundation (IOS-1656691, IOS-1656676, IOS-1656656, OPP-1644209), the Office of Naval Research (N000141612477), the World Wildlife Fund, and a Terman Fellowship from Stanford University. Fieldwork in South Africa was funded by the Percy Sladen Memorial Trust, a Torben og Alice Frimodts grant, the PADI Foundation and the Society of Marine Mammalogy. Additional Monterey Bay CATS tag deployments were funded by grants from the American Cetacean Society Monterey and San Francisco Bay chapters, and by the Meyers Trust. Sei whale work in the Falkland Islands was funded by a Darwin Plus grant (DPLUS082). Open access funding provided by Stanford University. Deposited in PMC for immediate release.
Funding Information:
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation in support of research experiences for undergraduates (REU) to CSUMB. Additionally, this research was funded in part by grants from the National Science Foundation (IOS-1656691, IOS- 1656676, IOS-1656656, OPP-1644209), the Office of Naval Research (N000141612477), the World Wildlife Fund, and a Terman Fellowship from Stanford University. Fieldwork in South Africawas funded by the Percy SladenMemorial Trust, a Torben og Alice Frimodts grant, the PADI Foundation and the Society of Marine Mammalogy. Additional Monterey Bay CATS tag deployments were funded by grants from the American Cetacean Society Monterey and San Francisco Bay chapters, and by the Meyers Trust. Sei whale work in the Falkland Islands was funded by a Darwin Plus grant (DPLUS082). Open access funding provided by Stanford University. Deposited in PMC for immediate release.
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