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Updated: Jul 1, 2025
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Training Rats to Voluntarily Dive Underwater: Investigations of the Mammalian Diving Response
Published on: November 12, 2014
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Heart rate reduction during voluntary deep diving in free-ranging loggerhead sea turtles
Ayaka Saito1, Chihiro Kinoshita1, Kino Sakai1
1Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8564, Japan.
The Journal of Experimental Biology
|March 5, 2024
Summary
Loggerhead sea turtles exhibit diving bradycardia, a significant reduction in heart rate during dives. This bradycardia intensity varies with dive depth, demonstrating a regulated cardiovascular response in aquatic reptiles.
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Physiology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Air-breathing vertebrates display diving bradycardia, with intensity varying by dive behavior in mammals and birds.
- Aquatic reptile heart rate responses during deep, natural dives remain under-investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate heart rate variations in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) during deep dives under natural conditions.
- To determine if diving bradycardia intensity correlates with dive depth and duration in loggerhead sea turtles.
Main Methods:
- Five loggerhead sea turtles were equipped with electrocardiogram, depth, temperature, and acceleration recorders.
- Recorders were deployed for three days, automatically detaching thereafter.
- Heart rate signals were recorded from electrodes on the turtle's plastron.
Main Results:
- Mean heart rate during dives (12.8±4.1 beats min-1) was significantly lower than during surface periods (20.9±4.1 beats min-1).
- Heart rate during dives varied with dive depth, remaining lower than surface rates.
- At depths exceeding 140m, heart rate temporarily dropped to approximately 2 beats min-1 despite high flipper stroke rates.
Conclusions:
- Loggerhead sea turtles exhibit significant diving bradycardia.
- The intensity of diving bradycardia in loggerhead sea turtles is modulated by dive depth.
- These findings suggest a regulated cardiovascular response to diving in loggerhead sea turtles, similar to marine mammals and birds.
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