Preliminary result of the relationship between the breathing frequency and dynamic body acceleration

Abstract

In this study, the relationship between the breathing frequency and the dynamic body acceleration (DBA) of one hatchery-reared loggerhead turtle Carretta carretta was examined using acceleration data loggers. Two acceleration data loggers (M190L-D2GT, W1000-3MPD3GT, Little Leonard, Japan) were attached on the lower-beak and carapace of a hatchery-reared loggerhead turtle, respectively. Breathing was successfully detected from the angle and depth of the beak-attached data logger and DBA, which has been used as an index of activity levels (Wilson et al., 2006), was calculated from the forward acceleration of the carapace-attached logger. There was a positive correlation between the DBA in the previous dive and the breathing frequency; the relationship was exponential. The result suggests that the number of breaths increased exponentially after a more active dive.