Total energy expenditure and swimming power (Ps)

Range total expenditure 4.02e–6 swimming power 2.84e–6 J/hour
Organism Ciliate Paramecium caudatum
Reference Katsu-Kimura Y, Nakaya F, Baba SA, Mogami Y. Substantial energy expenditure for locomotion in ciliates verified by means of simultaneous measurement of oxygen consumption rate and swimming speed. J Exp Biol. 2009 Jun212(Pt 12):1819-24. doi: 10.1242/jeb.028894. p.1821 right column top paragraphPubMed ID19482999
Comments "The energy spent by Paramecium especially for swimming (swimming power, Ps) is obtained by subtracting SMR [standard metabolic rate] from the total energy expenditure converted from VO2 using Eqn 2 [VO2=5.86X10^-8+1.42X10^-7U where VO2=oxygen consumption rate per cell and U=mean swimming speed] at a given swimming speed at its standard speed Us=1mm/sec in [researchers'] analysis, the calculated values of the total expenditure and Ps are 4.02X10^–6J/hour and 2.84X10^–6J/hour, respectively. When Paramecium swims at Us and consumes oxygen at the rate expected from Eqn2, SMR and Ps are therefore 29.3% and 70.7% of the total energy expenditure, respectively. This means that Paramecium uses a large part of its metabolic energy only for swimming."
Entered by Uri M
ID 110788