Table Of ContentMARINE MAMMAL
PHYSIOLOGY
Requisites for Ocean Living
CRC
MARINE BIOLOGY
SERIES
The late Peter L. Lutz, Founding Editor
David H. Evans and Stephen Bortone, Series Editors
PUBLISHED TITLES
Biology of Marine Birds
E.A. Schreiber and Joanna Burger
Biology of the Spotted Seatrout
Stephen A. Bortone
Early Stages of Atlantic Fishes: An Identification Guide for the
Western Central North Atlantic
William J. Richards
Biology of the Southern Ocean, Second Edition
George A. Knox
Biology of the Three-Spined Stickleback
Sara Östlund-Nilsson, Ian Mayer, and Felicity Anne Huntingford
Biology and Management of the World Tarpon and Bonefish Fisheries
Jerald S. Ault
Methods in Reproductive Aquaculture: Marine and Freshwater Species
Elsa Cabrita, Vanesa Robles, and Paz Herráez
Sharks and Their Relatives II: Biodiversity, Adaptive Physiology,
and Conservation
Jeffrey C. Carrier, John A. Musick, and Michael R. Heithaus
Artificial Reefs in Fisheries Management
Stephen A. Bortone, Frederico Pereira Brandini, Gianna Fabi,
and Shinya Otake
Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives, Second Edition
Jeffrey C. Carrier, John A. Musick, and Michael R. Heithaus
The Biology of Sea Turtles, Volume III
Jeanette Wyneken, Kenneth J. Lohmann, and John A. Musick
The Physiology of Fishes, Fourth Edition
David H. Evans, James B. Claiborne, and Suzanne Currie
Interrelationships Between Coral Reefs and Fisheries
Stephen A. Bortone
Impacts of Oil Spill Disasters on Marine Habitats and Fisheries in North America
J. Brian Alford, PhD, Mark S. Peterson, and Christopher C. Green
Hagfish Biology
Susan L. Edwards and Gregory G. Goss
Marine Mammal Physiology: Requisites for Ocean Living
Michael A. Castellini and Jo-Ann Mellish
MARINE MAMMAL
PHYSIOLOGY
Requisites for Ocean Living
EDITED BY
MICHAEL A. CASTELLINI
Graduate School, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
JO-ANN MELLISH
North Pacific Research Board, Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Boca Raton London New York
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to our teachers and colleagues, both past and present, who
forged new and exciting areas in marine mammal physiology and biochemistry.
There are some giants in this field who have left us, but who we still refer
to almost daily in our work: Laurence Irving and Per Scholander started
the modern work on the physiology of diving in the 1930s. It is hard to
imagine our field without their historical and groundbreaking work.
Dr. Knut Schmidt-Nielsen really did “write the book” on comparative
physiology, Animal Physiology: Adaptation and Environment (Cambridge
University Press, 1975), that was the core from which many of us were both
taught and that we used in our own classes as teachers. Of course, Irving,
Scholander, and Schmidt-Neilsen knew each other and worked together.
Dr. Ted Hammel broke ground on the modern aspects of thermoregulation
in mammals, including the marine species. In keeping with the pattern, he
also knew and worked with Irving, Scholander, and Schmidt-Nielsen.
Where would we be on the complexity of diving biochemistry without
Dr. Peter Hochachka? His ability to perceive and understand biochemical
pathways and to explore the new world of comparative biochemical adaptation
to the environment was second to none. By now, you can probably guess
that he also knew all of the scientists we have already mentioned.
The fascinating world of the neural control of the “diving reflex” was
explored by Dr. David Jones in a multitude of species, from rabbits to
whales, to ducks. He and Peter Hochachka were great friends, in the
same Zoology Department at the University of British Columbia.
Carl Hubbs, from Scripps, who identified many species of marine
mammals, was a contemporary with Irving and Scholander;
Ken Norris taught many of us about the ecological physiology of
marine mammals, “virtually created the field of cetology,” and
received his doctorate from Scripps as Hubbs’s PhD student.
All of these mentors have left us, but their impact to the field of
marine mammal physiology and biochemistry is fundamental.
Many of their works are referenced in these chapters.
Of our current colleagues, Dr. Bob Elsner is certainly the grandfather
of them all. A world-known diving physiologist, he studied with Irving,
Scholander, Schmidt-Neilsen, and most of the others. Dr. Elsner is over
90 years old and just as we were writing this dedication, he provided us with
a copy of his newly published book on diving physiology entitled Diving
Seals and Meditating Yogis (University of Chicago Press, 2015).
Dr. Elsner inspired Dr. Gerry Kooyman, also from Scripps, who broke
open the field of modern diving recorders and has been recognized
around the world for his leadership in diving physiology and Antarctic
expeditions. A simple “Google” search on Kooyman and Diving
will result in an astounding number of “hits.” Dr. Kooyman defined
the “aerobic diving limit,” which you will read about in this book.
Dr. Pat Butler is probably the world’s expert on the comparative neural
control of diving and has written a number of reviews on diving physiology.
He and Dr. Jones were long-standing friends and colleagues.
Dr. George Somero continues to be at the forefront of “comparative
biochemistry” and he and Peter Hochachka were the closest of friends.
They published the groundbreaking book Strategies of Biochemical
Adaptation (W.B. Saunders Company, 1973) that many of us
use in teaching. Their research on high-pressure biochemistry
forms the core of much of that work in marine mammals.
Needless to say, Elsner, Kooyman, Butler, and Somero are
all friends and have worked together for years.
Many studied under those noted above and they, in turn, formed
many of the author committees, chairs, and thesis projects in a large
academic family tree, with many interweaving branches. What was
once a small group of researchers has grown into an international field
of thousands. The editors thank in particular those founding members
of their marine mammal careers, Gerry Kooyman, George Somero,
and Peter Hochachka (Castellini), and Sara Iverson (Mellish).
This work is also dedicated to our many current colleagues and students
who have shared years of laboratory, classroom, and field time working
with marine mammals around the world. From exciting to dangerous, the
long nights observing animals, to shared time in camps, on boats, sea ice,
and beaches, working with marine mammals is certainly a group effort.
Finally, to our own families and children for their endless supply of support
and willingness to tolerate long times without us, to read manuscripts,
and listen to our tales of field debacles and near misses, animal antics, and
scientific mysteries, we thank you. We could not do this without you.
Michael A. Castellini
Fairbanks, Alaska
Jo-Ann Mellish
Anchorage, Alaska
