IRFP: Field Energetics and Diving Physiology of a Small Cetacean, the Harbor Porpoise

国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行9到24个月的研究。该项目的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，并提供了使用国外独特或互补的设施、专业知识和实验条件的机会。该奖项将资助比吉特·I·麦克唐纳博士与丹麦奥胡斯大学的彼得·马德森博士和托拜厄斯·王博士合作的为期24个月的研究奖学金。鲸类(鲸鱼、海豚和海豚)是有史以来进化的最大动物之一，作为海洋生态系统的顶端捕食者，它们对长时间、深呼吸潜水时的目标猎物具有显著的自上而下的影响。因此，如果我们要解释和理解鲸目动物在营养能级联中的作用、它们的觅食生态、潜水能力的极限以及适应环境变化和干扰的能力，了解鲸目动物的能量需求和氧气管理是至关重要的。然而，由于鲸目动物的体型和恶劣的栖息地，人们对它们的野外生理学知之甚少。港口江豚是研究野生鲸目动物代谢率和潜水生理的独特模式物种，因为它们体积小，可以在圈养和野生环境中进行研究。本研究通过确定最小的鲸目动物之一港口江豚潜水过程中的能量需求和氧气管理策略来解决上述知识差距。三个主要目标是：1)通过现场和实验室研究相结合的方法，确定港口江豚的野外代谢率；2)测量自由潜水的港口江豚的心率，这首次记录了自然潜水鲸目动物的心率减慢水平。此外，还将使用加速计来确定潜水过程中的工作量/活动。心率和活动之间的关系将被用来评估不同活动水平的潜水期间肌肉灌注的潜在水平，以及3)开发一种自给自足的生物仪来测量血流和心率，可以用来测量自由潜水海洋哺乳动物的心输出量。该项目提供了关于衰退物种新陈代谢需求的重要信息，这将有助于管理，并提供对鲸目动物潜水生理的洞察。此外，它提供高水平的科学培训，促进新的国内和国际科学合作，并提供广泛的外联活动，包括：1)对首席调查员进行新研究技术方面的培训，并为她提供教授和指导研究生和本科生的机会。2)发展和促进国际和跨学科合作。3)首席调查员与主办机构之间的知识交流。4)开发一种可用于多种潜水动物的血流数据记录仪，以提高我们对潜水过程中氧气管理的理解。5)通过峡湾和Bælt中心(http://www.fjord-baelt.dk))开展教育活动，宣传生理学研究在了解生物体的生态学和生物学及其在生态系统中的作用方面的重要性。

The International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship to Dr. Birgitte I. McDonald to work with Drs. Peter Madsen and Tobias Wang at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark. Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are among the largest animals ever to evolve, and as apex predators in marine ecosystems, they have a significant top-down effect on prey targeted during long, deep breath-hold dives. It is therefore essential to understand the energetic requirements and oxygen management of cetaceans if we are to interpret and understand their role in the trophic energy cascades, their foraging ecology, limits of dive performance and ability to adapt to environmental change and disturbance. However, very little is known about the field physiology of cetaceans due their size and hostile habitats. Harbor porpoises are a unique model species to study the metabolic rates and diving physiology in a wild cetacean because of their small size and ability to be studied in captivity as well as in the wildThis research addresses the above knowledge gaps by determining the energetic requirements and oxygen management strategy during diving in one of the smallest cetaceans, the harbor porpoise. The three main objectives are 1) Determining the field metabolic rate of harbor porpoises using a combination of field and laboratory studies, 2) Measuring heart rate in freely diving harbor porpoises, which for the first time document the level of bradycardia in a naturally diving cetacean. In addition, accelerometers will be used to determine workload/activity during dives. The relationship between heart rate and activity will be used to assess the potential level of muscle perfusion during dives with different activity levels, and 3) develop a self-contained biologger to measure blood flow and heart rate that can be used to measure cardiac output in freely diving marine mammals. The project provides important information on the metabolic requirements of a declining species that will aid in management and provides insight into the diving physiology of cetaceans. Further, it provides high level scientific training, fosters new domestic and international scientific collaborations, and offers expansive outreach activities including: 1) The training of the principle investigator in new research techniques and provides her with opportunities to teach and mentor graduate and undergraduate students. 2) The development and fostering of international and interdisciplinary collaborations. 3) Knowledge exchange between the principle investigator and the host institution. 4) The development of a blood flow data logger that can be used in a variety of diving animals to improve our understanding of oxygen management during diving. And 5) education outreach through the Fjord and Bælt Center (http://www.fjord-baelt.dk) about the importance of physiological research in understanding the ecology and biology of an organism and its role in the ecosystem.