Meeting Abstract
Sea turtles are air-breathing divers that have been documented to dive on inhalation. Despite the importance on the diving capacity for a sea turtle, allometric data on their diving ability is very limited, to the sole documentation of lung size relative to mass. For a more complete understanding on their diving physiology, previous studies have suggested the analysis of blood and tissue oxygen storages to investigate the possibility of a trade off between lung size and blood/tissue oxygen storages. The aim of this study was to create baseline parameters of the diving physiological adaptations that enable sea turtles to stay underwater for long periods of time, which is currently lacking in the scientific literature. To test this hypothesis, wild females of Lepidochelys olivacea (n=10), were used to collect blood samples as to establish plasma volume, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin value, and total blood oxygen stores. Our preliminary results provides a starting point into subsequent analysis of muscle oxygen stores that will be complemented, along with lung oxygen storages to calculate total body oxygen storages for this specie. This study also extends our knowledge into the diving adaptations that enable sea turtles to potentially increase foraging time; although it has been noted that a greater diving capacity also enhances migration and mating success, and reduces predation, by limiting their time at the surface.
