The Metabolic Cost of Swimming in Ducks

1970 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 763-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
HENRY D. PRANGE ◽  
KNUT SCHMIDT-NIELSEN
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Water Channel ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Overall Efficiency ◽  
The Cost

1. The metabolic cost of swimming was studied in mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) which had been trained to swim steadily in a variable-speed water channel. 2. At speeds of from 0.35 to 0.50 m/sec the oxygen consumption remained relatively constant at approximately 2.2 times the resting level. At speeds of 0.55 m/sec and higher the oxygen consumption increased rapidly and reached 4.1 times resting at the maximum sustainable speed of 0.70 m/sec. 3. The maximum sustainable swimming speed of the ducks coincided with the limit predicted from hydrodynamic considerations of the water resistance of a displacement-hulled ship of the same hull length as a duck (0.33 m). 4. The cost of transport (metabolic rate/speed) reached a minimum of 5.77 kcal/kg km at a swimming speed of 0.50 m/sec. Ducks swimming freely on a pond were observed to swim at the speed calculated in experimental trials to give minimum cost of transport. 5. Drag measurements made with model ducks indicated a maximum overall efficiency (power output/power input) for the swimming ducks of about 5%. Ships typically have maximum efficiencies of 20-30%. Because of the difficulty in delimiting the cost of swimming activity alone from the other bodily functions of the duck, overall efficiency may present an incorrect description of the swimming performance of the duck relative to that of a ship. An hydrodynamic parameter such as speed/length ratio [speed/(hull length)½] whereby a duck excels conventional ships may present a more appropriate comparison.

scholarly journals The rising cost of warming waters: effects of temperature on the cost of swimming in fishes

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Hein ◽  
Katrina J. Keirsted
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Quantitative Model ◽  
The Body ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
The Cost

Understanding the effects of water temperature on the swimming performance of fishes is central in understanding how fish species will respond to global climate change. Metabolic cost of transport (COT)—a measure of the energy required to swim a given distance—is a key performance parameter linked to many aspects of fish life history. We develop a quantitative model to predict the effect of water temperature on COT. The model facilitates comparisons among species that differ in body size by incorporating the body mass-dependence of COT. Data from 22 fish species support the temperature and mass dependencies of COT predicted by our model, and demonstrate that modest differences in water temperature can result in substantial differences in the energetic cost of swimming.

Energetics of median and paired fin swimming, body and caudal fin swimming, and gait transition in parrotfish (Scarus schlegeli) and triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (9) ◽  
pp. 1253-1263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith E. Korsmeyer ◽  
John Fleng Steffensen ◽  
Jannik Herskin
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Rigid Body ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Gait Transition ◽  
Energetic Costs ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Caudal Fin ◽  
Swimming Mode ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Undulatory Swimming

SUMMARYTo determine the energetic costs of rigid-body, median or paired-fin (MPF)swimming versus undulatory, body-caudal fin (BCF) swimming, we measured oxygen consumption as a function of swimming speed in two MPF swimming specialists, Schlegel's parrotfish and Picasso triggerfish. The parrotfish swam exclusively with the pectoral fins at prolonged swimming speeds up to 3.2 total lengths per second (L s-1; 30 min critical swimming speed, Ucrit). At higher speeds, gait transferred to a burst-and-coast BCF swimming mode that resulted in rapid fatigue. The triggerfish swam using undulations of the soft dorsal and anal fins up to 1.5 L s-1, beyond which BCF undulations were recruited intermittently. BCF swimming was used continuously above 3.5 L s-1, and was accompanied by synchronous undulations of the dorsal and anal fins. The triggerfish were capable of high, prolonged swimming speeds of up to 4.1 L s-1 (30 min Ucrit). In both species, the rates of increase in oxygen consumption with swimming speed were higher during BCF swimming than during rigid-body MPF swimming. Our results indicate that, for these species,undulatory swimming is energetically more costly than rigid-body swimming, and therefore support the hypothesis that MPF swimming is more efficient. In addition, use of the BCF gait at higher swimming speed increased the cost of transport in both species beyond that predicted for MPF swimming at the same speeds. This suggests that, unlike for terrestrial locomotion, gait transition in fishes does not occur to reduce energetic costs, but to increase recruitable muscle mass and propulsive surfaces. The appropriate use of the power and exponential functions to model swimming energetics is also discussed.

scholarly journals The performance of a flapping foil for a self-propelled fishlike body

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damiano Paniccia ◽  
Luca Padovani ◽  
Giorgio Graziani ◽  
Renzo Piva
Keyword(s):  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Locomotion Speed ◽  
Optimal Efficiency ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Flapping Foils

AbstractSeveral fish species propel by oscillating the tail, while the remaining part of the body essentially contributes to the overall drag. Since in this case thrust and drag are in a way separable, most attention was focused on the study of propulsive efficiency for flapping foils under a prescribed stream. We claim here that the swimming performance should be evaluated, as for undulating fish whose drag and thrust are severely entangled, by turning to self-propelled locomotion to find the proper speed and the cost of transport for a given fishlike body. As a major finding, the minimum value of this quantity corresponds to a locomotion speed in a range markedly different from the one associated with the optimal efficiency of the propulsor. A large value of the feathering parameter characterizes the minimum cost of transport while the optimal efficiency is related to a large effective angle of attack. We adopt here a simple two-dimensional model for both inviscid and viscous flows to proof the above statements in the case of self-propelled axial swimming. We believe that such an easy approach gives a way for a direct extension to fully free swimming and to real-life configurations.

Energetics of ascent: insects on inclines

1990 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 307-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Full ◽  
A. Tullis
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Stride Frequency ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Incline Angle ◽  
Small Animals ◽  
Cost Of Locomotion ◽  
The Cost

Small animals use more metabolic energy per unit mass than large animals to run on a level surface. If the cost to lift one gram of mass one vertical meter is constant, small animals should require proportionally smaller increases in metabolic cost to run uphill. To test this hypothesis on very small animals possessing an exceptional capacity for ascending steep gradients, we measured the metabolic cost of locomotion in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, running at angles of 0, 45 and 90 degrees to the horizontal. Resting oxygen consumption (VO2rest) was not affected by incline angle. Steady-state oxygen consumption (VO2ss) increased linearly with speed at all angles of ascent. The minimum cost of locomotion (the slope of the VO2ss versus speed function) increased with increasing angle of ascent. The minimum cost of locomotion on 45 and 90 degrees inclines was two and three times greater, respectively, than the cost during horizontal running. The cockroach's metabolic cost of ascent greatly exceeds that predicted from the hypothesis of a constant efficiency for vertical work. Variations in stride frequency and contact time cannot account for the high metabolic cost, because they were independent of incline angle. An increase in the metabolic cost or amount of force production may best explain the increase in metabolic cost. Small animals, such as P. americana, can easily scale vertical surfaces, but the energetic cost is considerable.

Energetics of swimming of a sea turtle

1976 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. D. Prange
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Water Channel ◽  
Chelonia Mydas ◽  
Sea Turtle ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Ascension Island ◽  
Fat Stores ◽  
The Cost

Young (mean mass 735 g) green turtles (Chelonia mydas) were able to swim in a water channel at sustained speeds between 0–14 and 0–35 m.s-1. Oxygen consumption at rest was was 0–07 l.kg-1.h-1; at maximum swimming speed oxygen consumption was 3–4 times greater than at rest for a given individual. In comparison with other animals of the same body mass the cost of transport for the green turtle (0.186lO2.kg-1.km-1) is less than that for flying birds but greater than that for fish. From drag measurements it was calculated that the aerobic efficiency of swimming was between 1 and 10%; the higher efficiencies were found at the higher swimming speeds. Based upon the drag calculations for young turtles, it is estimated that adult turtles making the round-trip breeding migration between Brazil and Ascension Island (4800 km) would require the equivalent of about 21% of their body mass in fat stores to account for the energetic cost of swimming.

Effect of variation in form on the cost of terrestrial locomotion

1990 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Full ◽  
D. A. Zuccarello ◽  
A. Tullis
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
American Cockroach ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Terrestrial Locomotion ◽  
Cost Of Locomotion ◽  
The Cost

The mass-specific minimum cost of terrestrial locomotion (Cmin) decreases with an increase in body mass. This generalization spans nearly eight orders of magnitude in body mass and includes two phyla. The general relationship between metabolic cost and mass is striking. However, a significant amount of unexplained interspecific variation in Cmin exists at any given body mass. To determine how variation in morphology and physiology affects metabolic energy cost, we measured the oxygen consumption of three comparably sized insects running on a miniature treadmill; the American cockroach Periplaneta americana, the caterpillar hunting beetle Calosoma affine and the Australian field cricket Teleogryllus commodus. Steady-state oxygen consumption (VO2ss) increased linearly with speed. Cmin was similar for crickets and cockroaches (8.0 and 8.5 ml O2 g-1km-1, respectively), but was substantially lower for beetles (4.6 ml O2 g-1km-1). The predicted value of Cmin for all three insects was within the 95% confidence intervals of the Cmin versus body mass function. However, the 95% confidence intervals extend approximately 2.5-fold above and 40% below the regression line, making the variation at any given body mass nearly sixfold. Normalizing for the rate of muscle force production by determining the metabolic cost per stride failed to account for the interspecific variation in the cost of locomotion observed in the three insects. Ground contact costs (i.e. VO2ss multiplied by leg contact time during a stride) in insects were similar to those measured in mammals (1.5-3.1 J kg-1) and were independent of speed, but did not explain the interspecific variation in the cost of locomotion. Muscles of the caterpillar hunting beetle may have a greater mechanical advantage than muscles of the Australian field cricket and American cockroach. Variation in musculo-skeletal arrangement, apart from variation in body mass, could translate into significant differences in the minimum cost of terrestrial locomotion.

Impact of Diet on Metabolism and Swimming Performance in Juvenile Lake Trout, Salvelinus namaycush

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. W. H. Beamish ◽  
J. C. Howlett ◽  
T. E. Medland
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Salvelinus Namaycush ◽  
Feeding Trial ◽  
Direct Association ◽  
Feeding Trials ◽  
Velocity Increments ◽  
Isocaloric Diets

Juvenile lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, of similar size were fed one of three isocaloric diets, each differing in protein and lipid content. Oxygen consumption and swimming performance were measured in a recirculating water flume at intervals throughout the 70-d feeding trials (10 °C). Swimming speed was increased by stepwise velocity increments (5 cm∙s−1) and oxygen consumption was measured at each velocity between 20 and 45 cm∙s−1. Oxygen consumption for a given speed did not differ significantly throughout the feeding trial nor among the diets implying a similarity in the quality and quantity of substrate catabolized for energy. Basal metabolism (0 cm∙s−1) was also independent of diet and feeding interval. Critical swimming speed increased with dietary and carcass protein content to suggest a direct association with muscle mass and number of myofilaments.

scholarly journals Relations between morphology, buoyancy and energetics of requiem sharks

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 160406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gil Iosilevskii ◽  
Yannis P. Papastamatiou
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Negative Selection ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Ontogenetic Changes ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Pectoral Fins ◽  
Confined Spaces ◽  
Reef Sharks ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Derivatives Of

Sharks have a distinctive shape that remained practically unchanged through hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Nonetheless, there are variations of this shape that vary between and within species. We attempt to explain these variations by examining the partial derivatives of the cost of transport of a generic shark with respect to buoyancy, span and chord of its pectoral fins, length, girth and body temperature. Our analysis predicts an intricate relation between these parameters, suggesting that ectothermic species residing in cooler temperatures must either have longer pectoral fins and/or be more buoyant in order to maintain swimming performance. It also suggests that, in general, the buoyancy must increase with size, and therefore, there must be ontogenetic changes within a species, with individuals getting more buoyant as they grow. Pelagic species seem to have near optimally sized fins (which minimize the cost of transport), but the majority of reef sharks could have reduced the cost of transport by increasing the size of their fins. The fact that they do not implies negative selection, probably owing to decreased manoeuvrability in confined spaces (e.g. foraging on a reef).

scholarly journals Metabolic cost of generating horizontal forces during human running

1999 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 1657-1662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Hui Chang ◽  
Rodger Kram
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Ground Reaction Forces ◽  
Vertical Force ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Reaction Forces ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Support Body Weight ◽  
Human Running

Previous studies have suggested that generating vertical force on the ground to support body weight (BWt) is the major determinant of the metabolic cost of running. Because horizontal forces exerted on the ground are often an order of magnitude smaller than vertical forces, some have reasoned that they have negligible cost. Using applied horizontal forces (AHF; negative is impeding, positive is aiding) equal to −6, −3, 0, +3, +6, +9, +12, and +15% of BWt, we estimated the cost of generating horizontal forces while subjects were running at 3.3 m/s. We measured rates of oxygen consumption (V˙o 2) for eight subjects. We then used a force-measuring treadmill to measure ground reaction forces from another eight subjects. With an AHF of −6% BWt,V˙o 2 increased 30% compared with normal running, presumably because of the extra work involved. With an AHF of +15% BWt, the subjects exerted ∼70% less propulsive impulse and exhibited a 33% reduction inV˙o 2. Our data suggest that generating horizontal propulsive forces constitutes more than one-third of the total metabolic cost of normal running.

The cost of transport of human running is not affected, as in walking, by wide acceleration/deceleration cycles

2013 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 498-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto E. Minetti ◽  
Paolo Gaudino ◽  
Elena Seminati ◽  
Dario Cazzola
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Constant Speed ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Unit Distance ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Speed Fluctuations ◽  
Human Running

Although most of the literature on locomotion energetics and biomechanics is about constant-speed experiments, humans and animals tend to move at variable speeds in their daily life. This study addresses the following questions: 1) how much extra metabolic energy is associated with traveling a unit distance by adopting acceleration/deceleration cycles in walking and running, with respect to constant speed, and 2) how can biomechanics explain those metabolic findings. Ten males and ten females walked and ran at fluctuating speeds (5 ± 0, ± 1, ± 1.5, ± 2, ± 2.5 km/h for treadmill walking, 11 ± 0, ± 1, ± 2, ± 3, ± 4 km/h for treadmill and field running) in cycles lasting 6 s. Field experiments, consisting of subjects following a laser spot projected from a computer-controlled astronomic telescope, were necessary to check the noninertial bias of the oscillating-speed treadmill. Metabolic cost of transport was found to be almost constant at all speed oscillations for running and up to ±2 km/h for walking, with no remarkable differences between laboratory and field results. The substantial constancy of the metabolic cost is not explained by the predicted cost of pure acceleration/deceleration. As for walking, results from speed-oscillation running suggest that the inherent within-stride, elastic energy-free accelerations/decelerations when moving at constant speed work as a mechanical buffer for among-stride speed fluctuations, with no extra metabolic cost. Also, a recent theory about the analogy between sprint (level) running and constant-speed running on gradients, together with the mechanical determinants of gradient locomotion, helps to interpret the present findings.

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