Costs of diving by wing and foot propulsion in a sea duck, the white-winged scoter

Abstract

Most birds swim underwater by either feet alone or wings alone, but some sea ducks often use both. For white-winged scoters (Melanitta fusca), we measured costs (V(O2)) of dives to 2 m with descent by feet only versus wings + feet (only feet are used at the bottom). Dive costs repaid during the recovery period after a dive bout were an important fraction (27-44%) of total dive costs, and removing costs of extraneous surface behaviors increased resolution of differences between dive types. Scoters using wings + feet had 13% shorter descent duration, 18% faster descent speed, 31% fewer strokes/m, and 59% longer bottom duration than with feet only. The cost of time underwater for dives using wings + feet was 32-37% lower than with feet only (P = 0.09 to 0.15). When indirect methods were used to partition descent costs from costs of ascent and bottom phases, using wings + feet lowered descent cost by an estimated 34%. Thus, using wings + feet increases descent speed and lowers descent cost, leaving more time and energy for bottom foraging. For birds in cold water, the large savings may result from both biomechanical and thermoregulatory factors.