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Energetics Of Swimming By The Platypus Ornithorhynchus Anatinus: Metabolic Effort Associated With Rowing, Frank E. Fish, R V. Baudinette, P B. Frappell, M P. Sarre
Energetics Of Swimming By The Platypus Ornithorhynchus Anatinus: Metabolic Effort Associated With Rowing, Frank E. Fish, R V. Baudinette, P B. Frappell, M P. Sarre
Frank E. Fish
The metabolism of swimming in the platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus Shaw was studied by measurement of oxygen consumption in a recirculating water flume. Platypuses swam against a constant water current of 0.45-1.0ms(-1). Animals used a rowing stroke and alternated bouts of surface and submerged swimming. Metabolic rate remained constant over the range of swimming speeds tested. The cost of transport decreased with increasing velocity to a minimum of 0.51 at 1.0ms(-1) Metabolic rate and cost of transport for the platypus were lower than values for semiaquatic mammals that swim at the water surface using a paddling mode. However, relative to transport …