Free and forced diving in ducks: habituation of the initial dive response

Response habituation in pekin ducks was observed during a study of the early phase of the dive response. This is interpreted as the orienting response and strongly suggests higher CNS influence in the initial phase of the forced immersion heart rate response. Repeated forced dives (20-30 s) of restrained ducks were performed with 40 s recovery period between dives. During the first dives, the ducks' heart rates fell 69% (272 +/- 8 to 83 +/- 32 beats X min-1, means +/- SE) of pre-dive values. The extent of this bradycardia decreased progressively as the dives were repeated. After 60 dives, the heart rates dropped by only 29% (248 +/- 3 to 177 +/- 25 beats X min-1 for pre-dive value). Voluntary diving of the ducks, lasting 5-20 s, caused no diving bradycardia. They showed breathing tachycardia which caused a 25% increase in heart rates above diving level (160 +/- 5 to 200 +/- 12 beats X min-1).