A01=Robert Elsner
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anatomy
asphyxia
Author_Robert Elsner
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biology
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clams
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divers
diving
drowning
endurance
enlightenment
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health
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Language_English
low tide
marine mammals
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regulation
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seals
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suppression
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the bends
yoga
yogi
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Product details
- ISBN 9780226246710
- Format: Hardback
- Weight: 397g
- Dimensions: 15 x 24mm
- Publication Date: 21 Apr 2015
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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The comparative physiology of seemingly disparate organisms often serves as a surprising pathway to biological enlightenment. How appropriate, then, that Robert Elsner sheds new light on the remarkable physiology of diving seals through comparison with members of our own species on quests toward enlightenment: meditating yogis. As Elsner reveals, survival in extreme conditions such as those faced by seals is often not about running for cover or coming up for air, but rather about working within the confines of an environment and suppressing normal bodily function. Animals in this withdrawn state display reduced resting metabolic rates and are temporarily less dependent upon customary levels of oxygen. For diving seals - creatures especially well-adapted to prolonged submersion in the ocean's cold depths-such periods of rest lengthen dive endurance. But while human divers share modest, brief adjustments of suppressed metabolism with diving seals, it is the practiced response achieved during deep meditation that is characterized by metabolic rates well below normal levels, sometimes even approaching those of non-exercising diving seals.
And the comparison does not end here: hibernating animals, infants during birth, near-drowning victims, and clams at low tide all also display similarly reduced metabolisms. By investigating these states - and the regulatory functions that help maintain them-across a range of species, Elsner offers suggestive insight into the linked biology of survival and well-being.
Robert Elsner is professor emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who studies the physiology of marine mammals. He is coauthor of Diving and Asphycia: A Comparative Study of Animals and Man.
