The Metabolic Cost of Swimming in Ducks

Abstract

1. The metabolic cost of swimming was studied in mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) which had been trained to swim steadily in a variable-speed water channel. 2. At speeds of from 0.35 to 0.50 m/sec the oxygen consumption remained relatively constant at approximately 2.2 times the resting level. At speeds of 0.55 m/sec and higher the oxygen consumption increased rapidly and reached 4.1 times resting at the maximum sustainable speed of 0.70 m/sec. 3. The maximum sustainable swimming speed of the ducks coincided with the limit predicted from hydrodynamic considerations of the water resistance of a displacement-hulled ship of the same hull length as a duck (0.33 m). 4. The cost of transport (metabolic rate/speed) reached a minimum of 5.77 kcal/kg km at a swimming speed of 0.50 m/sec. Ducks swimming freely on a pond were observed to swim at the speed calculated in experimental trials to give minimum cost of transport. 5. Drag measurements made with model ducks indicated a maximum overall efficiency (power output/power input) for the swimming ducks of about 5%. Ships typically have maximum efficiencies of 20-30%. Because of the difficulty in delimiting the cost of swimming activity alone from the other bodily functions of the duck, overall efficiency may present an incorrect description of the swimming performance of the duck relative to that of a ship. An hydrodynamic parameter such as speed/length ratio [speed/(hull length)½] whereby a duck excels conventional ships may present a more appropriate comparison.