Muscle capillary supply in harbor seals.

The purpose of this study was to examine muscle capillary supply in harbor seals. Locomotory and nonlocomotory muscles of four harbor seals (mass = 17.5-41 kg) were glutaraldehyde-perfusion fixed and samples processed for electron microscopy and analyzed by morphometry. Capillary-to-fiber number and surface ratios were 0.81 +/- 0.05 and 0.16 +/- 0.01, respectively. Capillary length and surface area per volume of muscle fiber were 1,495 +/- 83 mm/mm(3) and 22.4 +/- 1.6 mm(2)/mm(3), respectively. In the locomotory muscles, we measured capillary length and surface area per volume mitochondria (20.1 +/- 1.7 km/ml and 2,531 +/- 440 cm(2)/ml). All these values are 1.5-3 times lower than in muscles with similar or lower volume densities of mitochondria in dogs of comparable size. Compared with terrestrial mammals, the skeletal muscles of harbor seals do not match their increased aerobic enzyme capacities and mitochondrial volume densities with greater muscle capillary supply. They have a smaller capillary-to-fiber interface and capillary supply per fiber mitochondrial volume than terrestrial mammals of comparable size.     

High aerobic capacities in the skeletal muscles of pinnipeds: adaptations to diving hypoxia.

The objective was to assess the aerobic capacity of skeletal muscles in pinnipeds. Samples of swimming and nonswimming muscles were collected from Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus, n = 27), Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus, n = 5), and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina, n = 37) by using a needle biopsy technique. Samples were either immediately fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde or frozen in liquid nitrogen. The volume density of mitochondria, myoglobin concentration, citrate synthase activity, and beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase was determined for all samples. The swimming muscles of seals had an average total mitochondrial volume density per volume of fiber of 9.7%. The swimming muscles of sea lions and fur seals had average mitochondrial volume densities of 6.2 and 8.8%, respectively. These values were 1.7- to 2.0-fold greater than in the nonswimming muscles. Myoglobin concentration, citrate synthase activity, and beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase were 1.1- to 2. 3-fold greater in the swimming vs. nonswimming muscles. The swimming muscles of pinnipeds appear to be adapted for aerobic lipid metabolism under the hypoxic conditions that occur during diving.     

Metabolic indicators in the skeletal muscles of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina)

The goal of this study was to determine the distribution of citrate synthase (CS), beta-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HOAD), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities and myoglobin (Mb) concentration in the locomotor muscles (epaxial muscles) and heart of harbor seals. The entire epaxial musculature, which produces most of the power for submerged swimming, was removed and weighed, and three transverse sections (cranial, middle, and caudal) were taken along the muscle bundle. Multiple samples were taken along points on a circular grid using a 6-mm biopsy. A single sample was taken from the left ventricle of the heart. Muscle groups of similar function were taken from three dogs as a control. Mean values were calculated for four roughly equal quadrants in each transverse section of the epaxial muscles. There were no significant differences among the quadrants within any of the transverse sections for the three enzymes or Mb. However, there were significant differences in the mean enzyme activities and Mb concentrations along the length of the muscle. The middle and caudal sections had significantly higher mean levels of CS, LDH, and Mb than the cranial section, which may be correlated with power production during swimming. The enzyme ratios CS/HOAD and LDH/CS exhibited no variation within transverse sections or along the length of the epaxial muscles. Relative to the dog, the epaxial muscles and heart of the harbor seal had higher HOAD levels and lower CS/HOAD, which, taken together, indicate an increased capacity for aerobic lipid metabolism during diving.     

Postnatal development of muscle biochemistry in nursing harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups: limitations to diving behavior?

Adult marine mammal muscles rely upon a suite of adaptations for sustained aerobic metabolism in the absence of freely available oxygen (O₂). Although the importance of these adaptations for supporting aerobic diving patterns of adults is well understood, little is known about postnatal muscle development in young marine mammals. However, the typical pattern of vertebrate muscle development, and reduced tissue O₂ stores and diving ability of young marine mammals suggest that the physiological properties of harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pup muscle will differ from those of adults. We examined myoglobin (Mb) concentration, and the activities of citrate synthase (CS), β-hydroxyacyl coA dehydrogenase (HOAD), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in muscle biopsies from harbor seal pups throughout the nursing period, and compared these biochemical parameters to those of adults. Pups had reduced O₂ carrying capacity ([Mb] 28–41% lower than adults) and reduced metabolically scaled catabolic enzyme activities (LDH/RMR 20–58% and CS/RMR 29–89% lower than adults), indicating that harbor seal pup muscles are biochemically immature at birth and weaning. This suggests that pup muscles do not have the ability to support either the aerobic or anaerobic performance of adult seals. This immaturity may contribute to the lower diving capacity and behavior in younger pups. In addition, the trends in myoglobin concentration and enzyme activity seen in this study appear to be developmental and/or exercise-driven responses that together work to produce the hypoxic endurance phenotype seen in adults, rather than allometric effects due to body size.     

A review of the multi-level adaptations for maximizing aerobic dive duration in marine mammals: from biochemistry to behavior

Marine mammals exhibit multi-level adaptations, from cellular biochemistry to behavior, that maximize aerobic dive duration. A dive response during aerobic dives enables the efficient use of blood and muscle oxygen stores, but it is exercise modulated to maximize the aerobic dive limit at different levels of exertion. Blood volume and concentrations of blood hemoglobin and muscle myoglobin are elevated and serve as a significant oxygen store that increases aerobic dive duration. However, myoglobin is not homogeneously distributed in the locomotory muscles and is highest in areas that produce greater force and consume more oxygen during aerobic swimming. Muscle fibers are primarily fast and slow twitch oxidative with elevated mitochondrial volume densities and enhanced oxidative enzyme activities that are highest in areas that produce more force generation. Most of the muscle mitochondria are interfibriller and homogeneously distributed. This reduces the diffusion distance between mitochondria and helps maintain aerobic metabolism under hypoxic conditions. Mitochondrial volume densities and oxidative enzyme activities are also elevated in certain organs such as liver, kidneys, and stomach. Hepatic and renal function along with digestion and assimilation continue during aerobic dives to maintain physiological homeostasis. Most ATP production comes from aerobic fat metabolism in carnivorous marine mammals. Glucose is derived mostly from gluconeogenesis and is conserved for tissues such as red blood cells and the central nervous system. Marine mammals minimize the energetic cost of swimming and diving through body streamlining, efficient, lift-based propulsive appendages, and cost-efficient modes of locomotion that reduce drag and take advantage of changes in buoyancy with depth. Most dives are within the animal’s aerobic dive limit, which maximizes time underwater and minimizes recovery time at the surface. The result of these adaptations is increased breath-hold duration and enhanced foraging ability that maximizes energy intake and minimizes energy output while making aerobic dives to depth. These adaptations are the long, evolutionary legacy of an aquatic lifestyle that directly affects the fitness of marine mammal species for different diving abilities and environments.     

Oxygen consumption and the composition of skeletal muscle tissue after training and inactivation in the European woodmouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)

Summary In European woodmice the amount and intensity of daily activity was compared to oxygen uptake and to the potential for oxidative metabolism of heart and skeletal muscle. One group of animals was inactivated by exposition to light during night time; another group of animals was trained by enforced running on a treadmill. The oxidative potential of the muscle tissue was assessed by morphometry of capillaries and mitochondria. A novel sampling technique was used which allowed us to obtain morphological data related to single muscles, to muscle groups, and finally to whole body muscle mass.Reducing the spontaneous activity by ten fold had no effect on oxygen uptake nor on capillaries or mitochondria in locomotory muscles. Mitochondrial volume was reduced, however, in heart and diaphragm. Enforced running increased the weight specific maximal oxygen uptake significantly. It also increased the mitochondrial volume in heart and diaphragm as well as in M. tibialis anterior. Capillary densities were neither affected by training nor by inactivation. A significant correlation was found between the capillary density and the volume density of mitochondria in all muscles analysed morphometrically. For the whole skeletal muscle mass of a European woodmouse the inner mitochondrial membranes were estimated to cover 30 m². The oxygen consumption per unit time and per unit volume of muscle mitochondrion was found to be identical in all groups of animals (4.9 ml O₂ min^–1 cm^–3).Symbols S _v (im,m) surface area of inner mitochondrial membranes per unit mitochondrial volume - V _v (mt, f) volume density of mitochondria (mitochondrial volume per fiber volume) - V (mt) total mitochondrial volume - V (f) muscle volume - N _A (c, f) capillary density - (f) mean fiber cross-sectional area     

Capillarity and fiber types in locomotory muscles of wild common coots,Fulica atra

Six locomotory muscles of wild common coots, Fulica atra, were analyzed histochemically. Capillarity and fiber-type distributions were correlated to the functional implications and physiological needs of each muscle. Leg muscles exhibit three unevenly distributed fiber types, a pattern that reflects the great variety of terrestrial and aquatic locomotory performances that coots are able to develop. Aerobic zones are presumably recruited during steady swimming and diving, while regions with anaerobic characteristics may be used for bursts of activity such as sprint swimming or during take off, when coots run along the water's surface. Fiber types and capillarization in wing muscles have a marked oxidative trend. High wing beat frequencies, short and broad wings, and the long distance migrations that these birds perform indicate that the presence of high numbers of oxidative fibers and the well developed capillary supply are needed for enhanced oxygen uptake. The pectoralis muscle, except in its deep part, has exclusively fast oxidative fibers with a very high staining intensity for succinate dehydrogenase assay as compared to the same fiber type of other muscles. Its predominant role in flapping flight justifies these characteristics that are typical of fibers with high aerobic metabolism. The deep part of the pectoralis muscle presents a low proportion of an unusual slow anaerobic fiber type. These fibers could play a role during feeding dives when the bird presses the air out of the feathers by tightening the wings against the body. A linear relationship between capillary and fiber densities in all coot muscles studied reflects an adjustment between fiber diameter and vascularization in order to obtain the oxygen for mitochondrial supply. This strategy seems a suitable way to cope with the rigid aerobic constraints that flying and diving impose upon the coot's physiology. J. Morphol. 237:147–164, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Fibre types in the locomotory muscles of an antarctic teleost,Notothenia rossii

Summary The metabolic and structural differentiation of locomotory muscles of Notothenia rossii has been investigated. In this species sustained locomotion is achieved by sculling with enlarged pectoral fins (labriform locomotion), whilst the segmental myotomal muscle is reserved for burst activity. Red, white and subepidermal fibres can be distinguished in the trunk by histochemical and ultrastructural criteria. The main pectoral muscle (m. adductor profundus) consists entirely of red fibres. These three main fibres types show differences in histochemical staining profiles, capillarization, myofibril shape and packing, and lipid and mitochondrial content. The fractional volume of mitochondria amounts to 38% for pectoral, 30% for red myotomal and 1.9% for white myotomal fibres. Enzyme activities of red pectoral muscle are consistent with a higher potential for aerobic glucose and fatty acid oxidation than for the red myotomal fibres. Mg²⁺ Ca²⁺ -myofibrillar ATPase activities are similar for red pectoral and myotomal muscles and approximately half of those white fibres. Specialisations of N. rossii muscles associated with labriform swimming and locomotion at Antarctic temperatures are discussed.     

Structural basis for oxygen delivery: Muscle capillaries and manifolds in tuna red muscle

We summarize our morphometric data on fiber vascularization and aerobic capacity in red muscle of tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), compared to intensely aerobic flight muscles of hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus, BW 3–4 g) and bat (Eptesius fuscus, BW 15–16 g, Pipistrellus hesperus, BW 3–5 g). Three characteristic features of high flux paths for oxygen: (a) small fiber size, (b) dense capillary network and (c) high mitochondrial volume density were found in tuna, but they were not as pronounced as in hummingbird and bat flight muscles. A particular arrangement of capillary manifolds, also seen in flight muscle of birds but not in bats, was found in tuna, forming dense envelopes of capillary branches around portions of muscle fibers. However, all indexes of fiber capillarization were relatively low in tuna red muscle for its mitochondrial volume, compared with other intensely aerobic muscles. Capillary length per unit volume of mitochondria, and capillary surface per mitochondrial inner (and outer) membrane surface area, were about one half of those in hummingbird or bat flight muscles. Consistent differences exist in the size of the capillary network for the size of the mitochondrial compartment in highly aerobic red muscle of tuna compared with bird and mammal.     

Scaling of postcontractile phosphocreatine recovery in fish white muscle: effect of intracellular diffusion

In some fish, hypertrophic growth of white muscle leads to very large fibers. The associated low-fiber surface area-to-volume ratio (SA/V) and potentially long intracellular diffusion distances may influence the rate of aerobic processes. We examined the effect of intracellular metabolite diffusion on mass-specific scaling of aerobic capacity and an aerobic process, phosphocreatine (PCr) recovery, in isolated white muscle from black sea bass (Centropristis striata). Muscle fiber diameter increased during growth and was >250 mum in adult fish. Mitochondrial volume density and cytochrome-c oxidase activity had similar small scaling exponents with increasing body mass (-0.06 and -0.10, respectively). However, the mitochondria were more clustered at the sarcolemmal membrane in large fibers, which may offset the low SA/V, but leads to greater intracellular diffusion distances between mitochondrial clusters and ATPases. Despite large differences in intracellular diffusion distances, the postcontractile rate of PCr recovery was largely size independent, with a small scaling exponent for the maximal rate (-0.07) similar to that found for the indicators of aerobic capacity. Consistent with this finding, a mathematical reaction-diffusion analysis indicated that the resynthesis of PCr (and other metabolites) was too slow to be substantially limited by diffusion. These results suggest that the recovery rate in these fibers is primarily limited by low mitochondrial density. Additionally, the change in mitochondrial distribution with increasing fiber size suggests that low SA/V and limited O(2) flux are more influential design constraints in fish white muscle, and perhaps other fast-twitch vertebrate muscles, than is intracellular metabolite diffusive flux.     

Capillarisation,oxygen diffusion distances and mitochondrial content of carp muscles following acclimation to summer and winter temperatures

Summary Many species of fish show a partial or complete thermal compensation of metabolic rate on acclimation from summer to winter temperatures. In the present study Crucian carp (Carassius carassius L.) were acclimated for two months to either 2° C or 28° C and the effects of temperature acclimation on mitochondrial content and capillary supply to myotomal muscles determined.Mitochondria occupy 31.4% and 14.7% of slow fibre volume in 2°C- and 28° C-acclimated fish, respectively. Fast muscles of coldbut not warm-acclimated fish show a marked heterogeneity in mitochondrial volume. For example, only 5 % of fast fibres in 28° C-acclimated fish contain 5 % mitochondria compared to 34 % in 2° C-acclimated fish. The mean mitochondrial volume in fast fibres is 6.1 % and 1.6 % for coldand warm-acclimated fish, respectively.Increases in the mitochondrial compartment with cold acclimation were accompanied by an increase in the capillary supply to both fast (1.4 to 2.9 capillaries/fibre) and slow (2.2 to 4.8 capillaries/fibre) muscles. The percentage of slow fibre surface vascularised is 13.6 in 28° C-acclimated fish and 32.1 in 2° C-acclimated fish. Corresponding values for fast muscle are 2.3 and 6.6 % for warm and cold-acclimated fish, respectively. Maximum hypothetical diffusion distances are reduced by approximately 23–30 % in the muscles of 2° C-compared to 28° C-acclimated fish. However, the capillary surface supplying 1 ³ of mitochondria is similar at both temperatures.Factors regulating thermal compensation of aerobic metabolism and the plasticity of fish muscle to environmental change are briefly discussed.     

Development of myoglobin concentration and acid buffering capacity in harp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pagophilus groenlandicus</Emphasis>) and hooded (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cystophora cristata</Emphasis>) seals from birth to maturity

Pinnipeds rely on muscle oxygen stores to help support aerobic diving, therefore muscle maturation may influence the behavioral ecology of young pinnipeds. To investigate the pattern of muscle development, myoglobin concentration ([Mb]) and acid buffering ability (β) was measured in ten muscles from 23 harp and 40 hooded seals of various ages. Adult [Mb] ranged from 28–97 to 35–104 mg g tissue⁻¹ in harp and hooded seals, respectively, with values increasing from the cervical, non-swimming muscles to the main swimming muscles of the lumbar region. Neonatal and weaned pup muscles exhibited lower (~30% adult values) and less variable [Mb] across the body than adults. In contrast, adult β showed little regional variation (60–90 slykes), while high pup values (~75% adult values) indicate significant in utero development. These findings suggest that intra-uterine conditions are sufficiently hypoxic to stimulate prenatal β development, but that [Mb] development requires additional postnatal signal such as exercise, and/or growth factors. However, because of limited development in both β and [Mb] during the nursing period, pups are weaned with muscles with lower aerobic and anaerobic capacities than those of adults.     

Skeletal Muscle Type Comparison of Subsarcolemmal Mitochondrial Membrane Phospholipid Fatty Acid Composition in Rat

The phospholipid composition of membranes can influence the physiological functioning of the cell or subcellular organelle. This association has been previously demonstrated in skeletal muscle, where cellular or subcellular membrane, specifically mitochondria, phospholipid composition is linked to muscle function. However, these observations are based on whole mixed skeletal muscle analysis, with little information on skeletal muscles of differing fiber-type compositions. These past approaches that used mixed muscle may have misidentified outcomes or masked differences. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the phospholipid fatty acid composition of subsarcolemmal (SS) mitochondria isolated from slow-twitch postural (soleus), fast-twitch highly oxidative glycolytic locomotory (red gastrocnemius), and fast-twitch oxidative glycolytic locomotory (plantaris) skeletal muscles. The main findings of the study demonstrated unique differences between SS mitochondrial membranes from postural soleus compared to the other locomotory skeletal muscles examined, specifically lower percentage mole fraction of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and significantly higher percentage mole fraction of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and lower n6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), resulting in a lower unsaturation index. We also found that although there was no difference in the percentage mole fraction of cardiolipin (CL) between skeletal muscle types examined, CL of soleus mitochondrial membranes were approximately twofold more SFA and approximately two-thirds less PUFA, resulting in a 20–30% lower unsaturation and peroxidation indices. Thus, the results of this study indicate unique membrane lipid composition of mitochondria isolated from different skeletal muscle types, a potential consequence of their respective duty cycles.     

Fiber capillarization relative to mitochondrial volume in diaphragm of shrew.

The objective was to examine fiber capillarization in relation to fiber mitochondrial volume in the highly aerobic diaphragm of the shrew, the smallest mammal. The diaphragms of four common shrews [Sorex araneus; body mass, 8.2 +/- 1.3 (SE) g] and four lesser shrews (Sorex minutus, 2.6 +/- 0.1 g) were perfusion fixed in situ, processed for electron microscopy, and analyzed by morphometry. Capillary length per fiber volume was extremely high, at values of 8,008 +/- 1,054 and 12,332 +/- 625 mm(-2) in S. araneus and S. minutus, respectively (P = 0.012), with no difference in capillary geometry between the two species. Fiber mitochondrial volume density was 28.5 +/- 2.3% (S. araneus) and 36.5 +/- 1.4% (S. minutus; P = 0.025), yielding capillary length per milliliter mitochondria values (S. araneus, 27.8 +/- 1.5 km; S. minutus, 33.9 +/- 2.2 km; P = 0.06) as high as in the flight muscle of the hummingbird and small bats. The size of the capillary-fiber interface (i.e., capillary surface per fiber surface ratio) per fiber mitochondrial volume in shrew diaphragm was also as high as in bird and bat flight muscles, and it was about two times greater than in rat hindlimb muscle. Thus, whereas fiber capillary and mitochondrial volume densities decreased with increased body mass in S. araneus compared with S. minutus Soricinae shrews, fiber capillarization per milliliter mitochondria in both species was much higher than previously reported for shrew diaphragm, and it matched that of the intensely aerobic flight muscles of birds and mammals.     

Reaction–diffusion constraints in living tissue: Effectiveness factors in skeletal muscle design

A mathematical model was developed to analyze the effects of intracellular diffusion of O₂ and high‐energy phosphate metabolites on aerobic energy metabolism in skeletal muscle. We tested the hypotheses that in a range of muscle fibers from different species (1) aerobic metabolism was not diffusion limited and (2) that fibers had a combination of rate and fiber size that placed them at the brink of substantial diffusion limitation. A simplified chemical reaction rate law for mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation was developed utilizing a published detailed model of isolated mitochondrial function. This rate law was then used as a boundary condition in a reaction–diffusion model that was further simplified using the volume averaging method and solved to determine the rates of oxidative phosphorylation as functions of the volume fraction of mitochondria, the size of the muscle cell, and the amount of oxygen delivered by the capillaries. The effectiveness factor, which is the ratio of reaction rate in the system with finite rates of diffusion to those in the absence of any diffusion limitations, defined the regions where intracellular diffusion of metabolites and O₂ may limit aerobic metabolism in both very small, highly oxidative fibers as well as in larger fibers with lower aerobic capacity. Comparison of model analysis with experimental data revealed that none of the fibers was strongly limited by diffusion, as expected. However, while some fibers were near substantial diffusion limitation, most were well within the domain of reaction control of aerobic metabolic rate. This may constitute a safety factor in muscle that provides a level of protection from diffusion constraints under conditions such as hypoxia. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:104–115. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Physiological Cost of Physical Exercise and Mitochondrial Volume in Working Muscles of Subjects Exposed to Long-Term Hypokinesia: Effects of Local Resistance Exercise

The results of changes in the physiological cost of 30-min submaximal aerobic bicycle ergometric exercise and characteristics of the mitochondrial apparatus of m. vastus lateralis were assessed comparatively during 120-day (–6°) antiorthostatic hypokinesia either without prophylactic measures or with low-intensity resistance exercise training for 60 days using a Penguin exercise suit. Hypokinesia was accompanied by an increase in the working heart rate and lactate accumulation in the blood during the test exercise, as well as by a decrease in the myofibril size and the volume density of mitochondria in the m. vastus lateralis fibers. The patterns of dynamic changes in the lactate concentration in the blood during exercise training and in the volume density of central mitochondria were found to be similar. A correlation between the rate of lactate accumulation in the blood during the test exercise and the volume density of mitochondria in the working muscle appeared after long-term (60 days) exposure to hypokinesia. The use of the Penguin exercise suit in dynamic mode during prolonged (60-day) exposure to hypokinesia completely prevented the following effects: atrophy of slow-type fibers, a decrease in the volume density of central mitochondria, and an increase in the level of lactate accumulation in the blood under conditions of a standard submaximal aerobic exercise load. The correlation links between the oxidative potential of working muscle and the energy supply of muscular work are discussed.     

Locomotor muscle profile of a deep (Kogia breviceps) versus shallow (Tursiops truncatus) diving cetacean

When a marine mammal dives, breathing and locomotion are mechanically uncoupled, and its locomotor muscle must power swimming when oxygen is limited. The morphology of that muscle provides insight into both its oxygen storage capacity and its rate of oxygen consumption. This study investigated the m. longissimus dorsi, an epaxial swimming muscle, in the long duration, deep‐diving pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) and the short duration, shallow‐diving Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Muscle myoglobin content, fiber type profile (based upon myosin ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase assays), and fiber size were measured for five adult specimens of each species. In addition, a photometric analysis of sections stained for succinate dehydrogenase was used to create an index of mitochondrial density. The m. longissimus dorsi of K. breviceps displayed significantly a) higher myoglobin content, b) larger proportion of Type I (slow oxidative) fibers by area, c) larger mean fiber diameters, and d) lower indices of mitochondrial density than that of T. truncatus. Thus, this primary swimming muscle of K. breviceps has greater oxygen storage capacity, reduced ATP demand, and likely a reduced rate of oxygen consumption relative to that of T. truncatus. The locomotor muscle of K. breviceps appears able to ration its high onboard oxygen stores, a feature that may allow this species to conduct relatively long duration, deep dives aerobically. J. Morphol., 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Precocial development of axial locomotor muscle in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

At birth, the locomotor muscles of precocial, terrestrial mammals are similar to those of adults in both mass, as a percent of total body mass, and fiber-type composition. It is hypothesized that bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), marine mammals that swim from the instant of birth, will also exhibit precocial development of locomotor muscles. Body mass data from neonatal and adult dolphins are used to calculate Grand's (1992) Neural and Muscular Indices of Development. Using these indices, the bottlenose dolphin is a Condition "3.5" neonate, where Condition 4 is the documented extreme of precocial development in terrestrial mammals. Moreover, myosin ATPase (alkaline preincubation) analyses of the epaxial locomotor m. extensor caudae lateralis show that neonatal dolphins have fiber-type profiles very similar to those of adults. Thus, based on mass and myosin ATPase activity, muscle development in dolphins is precocial. However, succinic dehydrogenase and Nile red histochemistry demonstrate that neonatal dolphin muscle has mitochondrial and lipid distributions different from those found in adults. These data suggest that neonates have a lower aerobic capacity than adults. Dolphin neonates may compensate for an apparent lack of aerobic stamina in two ways: 1) by being positively buoyant, with a relatively increased investment of their total body mass in blubber, and 2) by "free-riding" off their mothers. This study investigates quantitatively the development of a dolphin locomotor muscle and offers suggestions about adaptations required for a completely aquatic existence.     

Capillarity and fibre types in locomotory muscles of wild mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

Six locomotory muscles from wild mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) were analysed by histochemical methods. Special care was taken in sample procedure in order to describe the heterogeneity found throughout each muscle. Capillarity and fibre-type distributions were correlated to the functional implications and physiological needs of each muscle. Comparisons between our results and similar previous reports on dabbling and diving ducks are also discussed. Muscles from the leg presented the most heterogeneous fibre-type distributions, which are correlated to the wide range of terrestrial and aquatic locomotory performances shown by these animals. More specialized muscles such as pectoralis, used almost exclusively for flapping flight, had more homogeneous fibretype distributions, whereas muscles from the wing presented a high proportion of glycolytic fibres probably recruited during non-steady flapping flight. Deep muscle pectoralis zones and parts of the gastrocnemius which are closer to the bone are remarkable for their high capillarity indices and oxidative capacities, which suggests that these parts are recruited during sustained flapping flight and swimming. However, two different strategies for achieving these high oxygen needs are evident, indicating that the fibre cross-sectional area plays an important role in the modulation of the oxygen supply to the muscle cells.Abbreviations AChE acetylcholinesterase - cap mm^-2 number of capillaries per square millimeter - CD capillary density - C/F capillary-to-fibre ratio - EMR muscle extensor metacarpialis radialis - FCSA fibre cross-sectional area - FD fibre density - FG fast glycolytic - FOG fast oxidative glycolytic - GLE muscle gastrocnemius lateralis (pars externa) - GPDH -glycerophosphate dehydrogenase - ITC muscle iliotibialis cranialis - m-ATPase myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase - OFA oxidative fibre area - OFN oxidative fibre number - PEC muscle pectoralis - SCH muscle scapulohumeralis caudalis - SDH succinate dehydrogenase - SO slow oxidative - TSC muscle scapulotriceps or triceps scapularis     

A longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of total body oxygen store development in nursing harbor seals (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phoca vitulina</Emphasis>)

This study compared the efficacy of longitudinal and cross-sectional sampling regimes for detecting developmental changes in total body oxygen (TBO₂) stores that accompany behavioral development in free-ranging harbor seal pups. TBO₂ stores were estimated for pup (n = 146) and adult female (n = 20) harbor seals. Age related changes were compared between pups captured repeatedly during the lactation period (longitudinal dataset) and a second group of pups handled only once (cross-sectional dataset). At each handling, hematocrit, hemoglobin, red blood cell count, total plasma volume, blood volume, muscle myoglobin concentration, and blood and muscle oxygen stores were determined. Comparisons across age categories revealed newborn blood oxygen stores were initially elevated, declined to low values by early lactation, and increased through post-weaning. Muscle oxygen stores remained low and constant throughout lactation and only increased significantly post-weaning. Overall TBO₂ stores increased 17% during lactation, and weaned pups had TBO₂ stores that were 55% as large as those of adults. Thus, significant increases in TBO₂ stores must occur after weaning, as pups begin to forage independently. Results from the two sampling schemes did not differ, indicating that the logistically simpler cross-sectional design can be used to monitor physiological development in harbor seals.