Summary
The salient features of this study in the order of significance as we perceive them are:
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1.
Post-dive arterial lactic acid concentrations were at no time different from resting levels unless the previous dive exceeded 20 to 25 min (Fig. 5).
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2.
Peak lactate concentration was correlated to dive durations (Fig. 6).
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3.
Only 2.7% of the dives of free-ranging seals exceed 26 min (Table 3 and Fig. 7).
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4.
There was a notable drop in body temperature during prolonged dives to as low as 34.9°C (Table 2).
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5.
Arterial hemoglobin concentrations immediately after dives (22.7%) were significantly higher than concentrations in resting animals (17.4g%) (Fig. 3).
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6.
Blood glucose after dives always rose aboce resting levels.
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7.
pH was in the normal mammalian range except after very long dives; in these cases the pH fell as low as 6.8 (Fig. 4).
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8.
Blood gases were in the normal mammalian range, but based upon resting apneic values\(P{\text{a}}_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) may drop to remarkably low levels during prolonged dives.
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Kooyman, G.L., Wahrenbrock, E.A., Castellini, M.A. et al. Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism during voluntary diving in Weddell seals: Evidence of preferred pathways from blood chemsitry and behavior. J Comp Physiol B 138, 335–346 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00691568
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00691568