Development and Testing of a Datalogging Device for Physiological Measurements of Deep-diving Odontocetes.

摘要

There is a dire need to determine the normal cardiovascular dive response of deep-diving odontocetes like beaked whales, and to examine how that response might be altered during exposure to anthropogenic sound. However, no one has ever recorded the electrocardiogram of a wild, freeranging odontocete. Recent advances in the miniaturization of multi-channel datalogging devices now make it possible to conceive of remotely attaching a device to a deep-diving odontocete to record physiological variables such as heart rate and body temperature, which would then permit studies of the cardiovascular response to diving and advance many of the discussions about the susceptibility of beaked whales to gas bubble disease beyond theory and speculation. We will modify our existing technology for making physiological recordings and demonstrate its utility on beaked and pilot whales so that diving physiology studies could be conducted to further our understanding of the susceptibility of these whales to adverse physiological effects of exposure to anthropogenic sounds.