Dear colleagues,

My co-authors and I are pleased to announce our recently published paper on
swimming energetics of free-ranging dolphins:

Davis, R.W., Fiori, L., Würsig, B., Orbach, D.N. 2024. Drag reduction and
locomotory power in dolphins: Gray's paradox revealed. *Journal of the
Royal Society Interface 21: *20240227. *doi: 10.1098/rsif.2024.0227
<https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsif.2024.0227>*


Abstract:
For 88 years, biologists and engineers have sought to understand the
hydrodynamics enabling dolphins to swim at speeds seemingly beyond
their energetic capabilities, a phenomenon known as Gray’s paradox.
Hydromechanical models calculating the drag of swimming dolphins
estimated power requirements for sustained high-speed swimming, which
were physiologically impossible. Using an uncrewed aerial vehicle, we
calculated the total power of free-ranging dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus
obscurus) at speeds from 0.9 to 6.9 m s−1, deriving drag coefficients (Cd)
and drag. Our results showed that the Cd decreased exponentially with
speed, reducing drag by up to 89% at speeds >2 m s−1, with an additional
17% reduction during porpoising (>4.0 m s−1). At 6.9 m s−1, drag was
32 N, with a power of 15.8 W kg−1, nearly identical to the mass-specific
allometric prediction for the maximum aerobic capacity of other mammals
and physiologically possible. The Cd at speeds >2.5 m s−1 indicated reduced
turbulence in the boundary layer around the dolphin’s body, thereby
reducing drag. The ability of dusky dolphins to swim at sustained high
speeds resulted from an exponential decrease in Cd, which was further
reduced by porpoising, thereby explaining the low drag and locomotory
power that resolved Gray’s paradox.

The article is not open access and is available upon request to Randall
Davis (dav...@tamug.edu) or Dara Orbach (dnorb...@gmail.com)

Thank you,
Dara Orbach, PhD

Department of Life Sciences,
Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi
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