Summary
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1.
Rates of oxygen consumption\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_2 } \) during surface and subsurface swimming were measured in the little penguinEudyptula minor. Comparisons were made with a duck of similar body mass,Anas superciliosa.
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2.
For both species, swimming on the water surface showed a marked curvilinear increase in\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_2 } \) with speed above 0.5 ms−1. Swimming while completely submerged reduced the oxygen demands in penguins by about 40%.
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3.
In ducks and penguins, increase in swimming speed was associated with modulation of both limb frequency and stride length.
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4.
In total efficiency of surface swimming (the ratio of mechanical power output to metabolic power input), the value for the penguin was 4.5% and for the duck, 5.7%.
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5.
The mass specific oxygen demand to move a given distance decreased from walking to surface swimming to submerged swimming in the penguin. The value for the duck whilst swimming on the surface was greater than that for the penguin.
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6.
Sub-surface swimming in penguins shows energy demands lower than for any other swimming endotherm.
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Baudinette, R.V., Gill, P. The energetics of ‘flying’ and ‘paddling’ in water: locomotion in penguins and ducks. J Comp Physiol B 155, 373–380 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00687481
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00687481