Myoglobin Concentration and Oxygen Stores in Different Functional Muscle Groups from Three Small Cetacean Species
Marina Arregui,
Emily M. Singleton,
Pedro Saavedra,
D. Ann Pabst,
Michael J. Moore,
Eva Sierra,
Miguel A. Rivero,
Nakita Câmara,
Misty Niemeyer,
Andreas Fahlman,
William A. McLellan,
Yara Bernaldo de Quirós
Affiliations
Marina Arregui
Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain
Emily M. Singleton
Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
Pedro Saavedra
Department of Mathematics, Campus de Tafira s/n, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas, Spain
D. Ann Pabst
Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
Michael J. Moore
Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Eva Sierra
Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain
Miguel A. Rivero
Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain
Nakita Câmara
Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain
Misty Niemeyer
International Fund for Animal Welfare, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675, USA
Andreas Fahlman
Global Diving Research Inc., Ottawa, ON K2J 5E8, Canada
William A. McLellan
Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
Yara Bernaldo de Quirós
Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Transmontaña s/n, 35413 Las Palmas, Spain
Compared with terrestrial mammals, marine mammals possess increased muscle myoglobin concentrations (Mb concentration, g Mb · 100g−1 muscle), enhancing their onboard oxygen (O2) stores and their aerobic dive limit. Although myoglobin is not homogeneously distributed, cetacean muscle O2 stores have been often determined by measuring Mb concentration from a single muscle sample (longissimus dorsi) and multiplying that value by the animal’s locomotor muscle or total muscle mass. This study serves to determine the accuracy of previous cetacean muscle O2 stores calculations. For that, body muscles from three delphinid species: Delphinus delphis, Stenella coeruleoalba, and Stenella frontalis, were dissected and weighed. Mb concentration was calculated from six muscles/muscle groups (epaxial, hypaxial and rectus abdominis; mastohumeralis; sternohyoideus; and dorsal scalenus), each representative of different functional groups (locomotion powering swimming, pectoral fin movement, feeding and respiration, respectively). Results demonstrated that the Mb concentration was heterogeneously distributed, being significantly higher in locomotor muscles. Locomotor muscles were the major contributors to total muscle O2 stores (mean 92.8%) due to their high Mb concentration and large muscle masses. Compared to this method, previous studies assuming homogenous Mb concentration distribution likely underestimated total muscle O2 stores by 10% when only considering locomotor muscles and overestimated them by 13% when total muscle mass was considered.
