Investigación publicada en Marine Mammal Science

1 de enero de 2013

Marine mammals maintain thermal equilibrium not only by relying on a layer of insulation (e.g., fur or blubber) and a body shape with a relatively low surface-to-volume ratio, but also by adjusting blood flow to the skin and appendages (Bryden and Molyneux 1978, Molyneux and Bryden 1978, Hokkanen 1990, Dehnhardt et al. 1998, Boyd 2000). These areas of adjustable blood flow, known as thermal windows, act as heat-dissipaters or heat-conservers depending on the needs of the animal (Tattersall et al. 2009). For example, cetaceans have circulatory plexuses to enable counter-current heat transfer in the dorsal fin, the pectoral flippers and the flukes (Scholander and Schevill 1955). Among otariids, fur seals appear to use their flippers for removing heat excess while swimming (Bryden and Molyneux 1978), whereas Willis et al. (2005) demonstrated higher heat flux values around the hips and shoulders than in flippers of swimming and stationary Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Phocids, in contrast, appear to use the extremities and the trunk for heat dissipation (Molyneux and Bryden 1978). In these species these areas of increased heat exchange are most often the result of arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs), which control the passage of blood to the surface of the body to cool it (Krumbiegel 1933, Øritsland 1968, Bryden and Molyneux 1978, Molyneux and Bryden 1978, Mauck et al. 2003). While a great deal of research on thermal windows has been done in these two families of pinnipeds, no research has been published on the third family, the Odobenidae (walruses). The aim of this study was to identify whether the pattern in which thermal windows are presented and develop across the walruses’ body surface is similar to phocid seals, mainly over the trunk, or concentrated near the extremities, as in otariids.

Rodriguez-Prieto V., Rubio-Garcia A., Melero M., Garcia-Parraga D. y Sanchez-Vizcaino JM..

Identification of the pattern of appearance and development of thermal windows in the skin of juvenile Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in a controlled environment

	Servicio de Inmunología Viral y Medicina Preventiva (SUAT). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Oceanogràfic. Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. Generalitat Valenciana.