California sea lions, Zalophus californianus, were trained to elicit maximum voluntary breath holds during stationary underwater targeting, submerged swimming, and trained diving. Lowest heart rate during rest periods was 57 bpm. The heart rate profiles in all three protocols were dominated by a bradycardia of 20-50 bpm, and demonstrated that otariid diving heart rates were at or below resting heart rate. Venous blood samples were collected after submerged swimming periods of 1-3 min. Plasma lactate began to increase only after 2.3-min submersions. This rise in lactate and our inability to train sea lions to dive or swim submerged for periods longer than 3 min lead us to conclude that an aerobic limit had been reached. Due to the similarity of heart rate responses and swimming velocities recorded during submerged swimming and trained diving, this 2.3-min limit should approximate the aerobic dive limit in these 40-kg sea lions. Total body O2 stores, based on measurements of blood and muscle O2 stores in these animals, and prior lung O2 store analyses, were 37-43 ml O2 kg-1. The aerobic dive limit, calculated with these O2 stores and prior measurements of at-sea metabolic rates of sea lions, is 1.8-2 min, similar to that measured by the change in post-submersion lactate concentration.

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To compare the diving capacities of juvenile and adult emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri, and to determine the physiological variables underlying the diving ability of juveniles, we monitored diving activity in juvenile penguins fitted with satellite-linked time/depth recorders and examined developmental changes in body mass (Mb), hemoglobin concentration, myoglobin (Mb) content and muscle citrate synthase and lactate dehydrogenase activities. Diving depth, diving duration and time-at-depth histograms were obtained from two fledged juveniles during the first 2.5 months after their depature from the Cape Washingon colony in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. During this period, values of all three diving variables increased progressively. After 8–10 weeks at sea, 24–41 % of transmitted maximum diving depths were between 80 and 200 m. Although most dives lasted less than 2 min during the 2 month period, 8–25 % of transmitted dives in the last 2 weeks lasted 2–4 min. These values are lower than those previously recorded in adults during foraging trips. Of the physiological variables examined during chick and juvenile development, only Mb and Mb content did not approach adult values. In both near-fledge chicks and juveniles, Mb was 50–60 % of adult values and Mb content was 24–31 % of adult values. This suggests that the increase in diving capacity of juveniles at sea will be most dependent on changes in these factors.