Plastic debris is now ubiquitous in the marine environment affecting a wide range of taxa,
from microscopic zooplankton to large vertebrates. Its persistence and dispersal throughout …

Behavior is an important mechanism of evolution and it is paid for through energy
expenditure. Nevertheless, field biologists can rarely observe animals for more than a …

The leatherback sea turtle is unique among chelonians for having a soft skin which covers
its osteoderms. The osteoderm is composed of bony plates that are interconnected with …

Decompression sickness (DCS), as clinically diagnosed by reversal of symptoms with
recompression, has never been reported in aquatic breath-hold diving vertebrates despite …

Recent technological innovations have led to the development of miniature, accelerometer-
containing electronic loggers which can be attached to free-living animals. Accelerometers …

The aquatic habitat of marine “air-breathing” vertebrates provides a significant
thermoregulatory challenge due to the high thermal conductivity of water. In addition to …

Maintaining a high and stable body temperature is often critical for female ectotherms during
reproduction. Yet this strategy may be energetically costly, and therefore challenging, during …

The identification of sea turtle behaviours is a prerequisite to predicting the activities and
time-budget of these animals in their natural habitat over the long term. However, this is …

Diving animals modulate their swimming gaits to promote locomotor efficiency and so
enable longer, more productive dives. Beaked whales perform extremely long and deep …

Lung compression of vertebrates as they dive poses anatomical and physiological
challenges. There has been little direct observation of this. A harbor and a gray seal, a …