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Muscle Oxygen Saturation Measurements in Diving Mammals and Birds Using NIRS

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Application of Near Infrared Spectroscopy in Biomedicine

Part of the book series: Handbook of Modern Biophysics ((HBBT,volume 4))

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Abstract

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) principles have been applied to study muscle oxygen (O2) saturation in diving mammals and birds. Custom-made NIRS instruments and probes were developed to measure myoglobin (Mb) O2 saturation levels in two studies conducted in Antarctica at isolated dive holes on the sea ice of McMurdo Sound on freely-diving Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) and on freely diving emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri). Studies also used a modified, commercially available NIRS instrument (Vander Niroscope) to measure muscle O2 levels in trained harbor seals for simulated dives using a helmet that filled with water for specific time periods. The present chapter will focus on NIRS principles and the development and application of custom-made instruments and the methodology to study diving mammals.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge funding support from NSF grant 0944220. CLW was supported by an NIH-NIAMS grant (T32AR047752 to V. Caiozzo) for the UC Irvine Multidisciplinary Exercise Sciences Training Program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, 321 Steinhaus, 92697-2525, Irvine, CA, USA

    Cassondra L. Williams Ph.D.

  2. Center for Marine Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0204, USA

    Paul J. Ponganis Ph.D., M.D.

Authors
  1. Cassondra L. Williams Ph.D.
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  2. Paul J. Ponganis Ph.D., M.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cassondra L. Williams Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR MEDICINE, University of California Davis BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Davis, California, USA

    Thomas Jue

  2. Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

    Kazumi Masuda

Appendices

Problem

  1. 7.1.

    What is the ratio of Mb to Hb in a gram of the locomotory muscle of a seal versus that of a dog? (see [41–45]).

Further Reading

Guyton GP, Stanek KS, Schneider RC, Hochachka PW,Hurford WE, Zapol DG, Liggins GC, Zapol WM (1995) Myoglobin saturation in free-diving Weddell seals. J Appl Physiol 79:1148–1135

Jöbsis PD, Ponganis PJ, Kooyman GL (2001) Effects of training on forced submersion responses in harbor seals. J Exp Biol 204:3877–3885

Jöbsis PD (1998) Muscle oxygenation and blood flow during submersion in ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and seals (Phoca vitulina). Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, San Diego, 142pp

Williams CL, Meir JU, Ponganis PJ (2011) What triggers the aerobic dive limit? Patterns of muscle oxygen depletion during dives of emperor penguins. J Exp Biol 214:1802–1812

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Williams, C.L., Ponganis, P.J. (2013). Muscle Oxygen Saturation Measurements in Diving Mammals and Birds Using NIRS. In: Jue, T., Masuda, K. (eds) Application of Near Infrared Spectroscopy in Biomedicine. Handbook of Modern Biophysics, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6252-1_7

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