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PNW cetacean muscle biochemistry - Muscle Myoglobin Content and Acid Buffering Capacity of Cetaceans from the Pacific Northwest to Assess Dive Capacity and the Development of Diving Capabilities

Published by Northwest Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 04:06 AM | Dataset Last Updated: April 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM
This project assesses the development of two important skeletal muscle adaptations for diving (enhanced myoglobin content and acid buffering capacities) in a range of cetaceans from the Pacific Northwest in order to understand constraints on diving capacities (primarily dive duration) with development. Myoglobin is an important oxygen store for supporting aerobic diving, while enhanced buffering capacity could support anaerobic metabolism during apnea. Yet little is known about the post-natal development of muscle biochemistry in cetaceans. To assess the development of these important adaptations in cetaceans, muscle myoglobin content and buffering capacity due to non-bicarbonate buffers were measured in the longissimus dorsi of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), killer whale (Orcinus orca), and Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli). Dawn Noren is the principal investigator from NWFSC. Projects on individual species within this larger project include different collaborators. For the project on harbor porpoise (completed), Shawn Noren (UCSC) and Joe Gaydos (SeaDoc Society) are external collaborators. Dawn Noren is responsible for project oversight, Shawn Noren trained Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) staff on laboratory procedures for sample analysis and Joe Gaydos collected samples. The specific work includes experimental design, data collection, data analysis, and writing for submission to peer-reviewed journals. These projects are ongoing until sufficient samples are collected for sound statistical analysis. This research addresses some data gaps associated with dive capacities and potential limitations in habitat use by local cetaceans. Muscle adaptation to diving.

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  • WA Harbor Porpoise Myoglobin Data

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  • WA Harbor Porpoise Myoglobin Data (RESTful)

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  • WA Harbor Porpoise Acid Buffer Data

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  • WA Harbor Porpoise Acid Buffer Data (RESTful)

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  • GCMD Keyword Forum Page

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  • Full Metadata Record

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Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
{
  "fn": "Noren Adams, Dawn",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:dawn.noren@noaa.gov"
}
describedByType application/octet-steam
description This project assesses the development of two important skeletal muscle adaptations for diving (enhanced myoglobin content and acid buffering capacities) in a range of cetaceans from the Pacific Northwest in order to understand constraints on diving capacities (primarily dive duration) with development. Myoglobin is an important oxygen store for supporting aerobic diving, while enhanced buffering capacity could support anaerobic metabolism during apnea. Yet little is known about the post-natal development of muscle biochemistry in cetaceans. To assess the development of these important adaptations in cetaceans, muscle myoglobin content and buffering capacity due to non-bicarbonate buffers were measured in the longissimus dorsi of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), killer whale (Orcinus orca), and Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli). Dawn Noren is the principal investigator from NWFSC. Projects on individual species within this larger project include different collaborators. For the project on harbor porpoise (completed), Shawn Noren (UCSC) and Joe Gaydos (SeaDoc Society) are external collaborators. Dawn Noren is responsible for project oversight, Shawn Noren trained Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) staff on laboratory procedures for sample analysis and Joe Gaydos collected samples. The specific work includes experimental design, data collection, data analysis, and writing for submission to peer-reviewed journals. These projects are ongoing until sufficient samples are collected for sound statistical analysis. This research addresses some data gaps associated with dive capacities and potential limitations in habitat use by local cetaceans. Muscle adaptation to diving.
distribution 
[
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "WA Harbor Porpoise Myoglobin Data",
    "accessURL": "https://www.webapps.nwfsc.noaa.gov/apex/parrdata/inventory/tables/table/wa_harbor_porpoise_myoglobin_data",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Washington Harbor Porpoise Myoglobin.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "WA Harbor Porpoise Myoglobin Data (RESTful)",
    "accessURL": "https://www.webapps.nwfsc.noaa.gov/apex/parr/wa_harbor_porpoise_myoglobin_data/data/page/",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Washington Harbor Porpoise Myoglobin.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "WA Harbor Porpoise Acid Buffer Data",
    "accessURL": "https://www.webapps.nwfsc.noaa.gov/apex/parrdata/inventory/tables/table/wa_harbor_porpoise_acid_buffer_data",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Washington Harbor Porpoise Acid Buffer.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "WA Harbor Porpoise Acid Buffer Data (RESTful)",
    "accessURL": "https://www.webapps.nwfsc.noaa.gov/apex/parr/wa_harbor_porpoise_acid_buffer_data/data/page/",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Washington Harbor Porpoise Acid Buffer.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "GCMD Keyword Forum Page",
    "accessURL": "https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2026. GCMD Keywords, Version 24. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Full Metadata Record",
    "accessURL": "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/20598",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  }
]
identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/nmfs/nwfsc/iso/xml/20598.xml
issued 2013-08-04T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
[
  "Dall's porpoise",
  "acid buffering",
  "diving physiology",
  "harbor porpoise",
  "killer whale",
  "myoglobin",
  "NWFSC Montlake",
  "92372",
  "92606",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/NWFSC > Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "CB Legacy Data Sets"
]
landingPage https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/20598
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2016-04-13T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "Northwest Fisheries Science Center",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
rights otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial -122.2962,47.6449,-122.3062,47.6549
temporal 2004-01-01T00:00:00+00:00/2004-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title PNW cetacean muscle biochemistry - Muscle Myoglobin Content and Acid Buffering Capacity of Cetaceans from the Pacific Northwest to Assess Dive Capacity and the Development of Diving Capabilities

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