Ecological Archives C006-045-A2

S. Villegas-Amtmann, L. K. Schwarz, J. L. Sumich, D. P. Costa. 2015. A bioenergetics model to evaluate demographic consequences of disturbance in marine mammals applied to gray whales. Ecosphere 6:183. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES15-00146.1

Appendix B. Respiration rate (Rs).

Respiration rates for 0–2 month old calves were calculated based on breath-hold sequences from 78 calves at the breeding lagoons from birth to lagoon departure at three months (0 mo.: 2.14 ± 0.5; 1 mo.: 1.56 ± 0.4; 2 mo.: 1.39 ± 0.3 breaths/min) (Sumich 1986). Respiration rate for 3–5 months old were obtained from 25 northbound calves (0.7 ± 0.5 breaths/min) (Rodriguez de la Gala-Hernandez et al. 2008) and respiration rate for 5.7 and 6.5 months old from a captive calf (“JJ”), during June at approximately five months of age (1.33 ± 1.1 breaths/min) (Sumich 2001).

Respiration rate used for southbound adult femaleswas 0.72 ± 0.17 breaths/min, N=74 whales,(Sumich 1983). Schwarz (2002) found no difference in respiration rate between southward early migrating females (most likely pregnant) and late migrating females (most likely non-pregnant). Respiration rates for single females at breeding lagoons are not available; therefore, respiration rates of lactating females at lagoons were utilized for both (0.62 ± 0.2 breaths/min, N=7 whales, (Harvey and Mate 1984)). Respiration rates between northbound mothers (0.5 ± 0.18 breaths/min, N=26 whales) and single whales (0.5 ± 0.51 breaths/min, N=36 whales) only differed in their S.D.(Rodriguez de la Gala-Hernandez et al. 2008). Respiration rates for females at foraging grounds were obtained from adult size gray whales which could have included some immature whales (1.17 ± 0.78 breaths/min, N=211 whales). These were calculated as # blows per surfacing (4.2 ± 2.23) / duration of surfacing (0.89 ± 0.73 min) + duration of dive (3.18 ± 1.27 min) (Wursig et al. 1986) with the three values sampled from a log distribution.

Literature Cited

Harvey, J. T., and B. R. Mate. 1984. Dive characteristics and movements of radio-tagged gray whales in San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Pages 561–575 in M. L. Jones and S. L. Swartz, editors. The gray whale Eschrichtius robustus. Academic Press, Orlando, Florida, USA.

Rodriguez de la Gala-Hernandez, S., G. Heckel, and J. L. Sumich. 2008. Comparative swimming effort of migrating gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) and calf cost of transport along Costa Azul, Baja California, Mexico. Canadian Journal of Zoology 86:307–313.

Schwarz, L. K. 2002. The impact of anthropogenic activities on the behavior of migrating eastern North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). Dissertation. San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.

Sumich, J. L. 1986. Latitudinal distribution, calf growth and metabolism, and reproductive energetics of gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus. Dissertation. Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.

Sumich, J. L. 2001. Direct and indirect measures of oxygen extraction, tidal lung volumes and respiratory rates in a rehabilitating gray whale calf. Aquatic Mammals 27:279–283.

Wursig, B., R. S. Wells, and D. A. Croll. 1986. Behavior of gray whales summering near St. Lawrence Island, Bering Sea Canadian Journal of Zoology 64:611–621.


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