British Diving Birds

The physiological basis of diving to depth: birds and mammals.

There is wide diversity in the animals that dive to depth and in the distribution of their body oxygen stores. A hallmark of animals diving to depth is a substantial elevation of muscle myoglobin concentration. In deep divers, more than 80% of the oxygen store is in the blood and muscles. How these oxygen stores are managed, particularly within muscle, is unclear. The aerobic endurance of four ...

Respiratory and cardiovascular control during diving in birds and mammals.

Recent studies on freely diving birds and mammals indicate that, contrary to the classical hypothesis, the majority of dives are aerobic with minimal cardiovascular adjustments (i.e. bradycardia and selective vasoconstriction). It is postulated that during these aerobic dives the cardiovascular adjustments result from the opposing influences of exercise and the classical diving response, with t...

Taxonomic recommendations for British birds: Sixth report

Stockholm, Sweden Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE–106 91 Stockholm, Sweden School of Medical Sciences, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK Historic Collections, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3SW, UK Institute of Genetics, Queen’s Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK S:ta Toras väg 28, SE...

Diving Birds of North America: Species Accounts — Loons (Gaviidae)

Reduced taxonomic richness of lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) in diving birds.

Avian lice occupy different habitats in the host plumage that the physical environment outside the host body may affect in several ways. Interactions between host plumage and water may be an important source of such effects. Here, we use a comparative approach to examine the effect of a host's diving behavior on the taxonomic richness of its lice. Louse genera richness was significantly lower i...