Meeting Abstract
S2-6 Thursday, Jan. 5 11:00 – 11:30 Do bar-headed geese train for high altitude flights? HAWKES, LA*; BATBAYAR, N; BUTLER, PJ; CHUA, B; FRAPPELL, PB; MILSOM, WK; NATSAGDORJ, T; NEWMAN, SH; SCOTT, GR; SPIVEY, RS; TAKEKAWA, JY; WIKELSKI, WITT, BISHOP, M, MJ, CM; University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK; Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre, Ulan Bataar, Mongolia; University of Birmingham, School of Biosciences, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; University of British Columbia, Department of Zoology, 6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada; University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay Campus, Private Bag 3, Tasmania 7001, Australia; University of British Columbia, Department of Zoology, 6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada; Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre, Ulan Bataar, Mongolia; Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome 00153, Italy; McMaster University, Department of Biology, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Bangor University, School of Biological Sciences, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK; National Audubon Society, 220 Montgomery Street, Suite 1000, San Francisco CA 94104-3402, USA; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Schlossallee 2, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Bangor University, School of Biological Sciences, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK; University of Exeter, Environment and Sustainability Institute, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwal l.hawkes@exeter.ac.uk http://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Lucy_Hawkes
Exercise at high altitude is extremely challenging, largely due to hypobaric hypoxia (low oxygen levels brought about by low air pressure). Studies of humans at extreme high altitude on Mount Everest have demonstrated precipitous declines in blood oxygen content above 8,400 metres and consequently very few humans have summited Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen and only do so after considerable acclimatisation and /or training. The bar-headed goose (Anser indicus is a renown high altitude migrant and although it appears to minimise altitude during migration where possible, makes steep climbs from India over the Himalayan mountain range. This requires considerable cardiovascular effort, without acclimatisation, but no work has assessed the extent to which geese may train prior to the migration. Using implanted heart rate loggers and accelerometry, we investigate the extent to which ‘training’ may take place and discuss the strategies used by bar-headed geese in the context of training for altitude in human mountaineers, noting the differences between their respective cardiovascular physiology.
