<Session 5: Wildlife Tracking I>Simultaneous measurements of breaths and energy expenditure reveal the dive tactics of sea turtles

Abstract

Air-breathing divers are assumed to have evolved to apportion their time between surface and underwater periods to maximize the benefit gained from diving activities. However, whether they change their time allocation depending on the aim of the dive is still unknown. This may be particularly crucial for 'surfacers' because they dive for various purposes in addition to foraging. In this study, we counted breath events at the surface and estimated oxygen consumption during resting, foraging, and other dives in 11 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the wild. Breath events were counted by a head-mounted acceleration logger or direct observation based on an animal-borne video logger, and oxygen consumption was estimated by measuring overall dynamic body acceleration. Our results indicate that green turtles maximized their submerged time, following this with 5-7 breaths to replenish oxygen for resting dives. However, they changed their dive tactic during foraging and other dives; they surfaced without depleting their oxygen content, followed by only a few breaths for effective foraging and locomotion. These dichotomous surfacing tactics would be the result of behavioral modifications by turtles depending on the aim of each dive.