Physiological Works on Dolphins Mixing Basic and Applied Sciencesn

Abstract

Physiology is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system, and it is necessary to obtain some kind of components of the body for carrying out studies in the field. Consequently, collaboration with aquaria is indispensable to study on giant aquatic animals like dolphins by physiological approaches. I have been carrying out collaborative works with aquaria on many kinds of subjects on dolphin physiology from a mix of basic- and applied-scientific standpoints. Here, my recent works began with (1) a question of whether secretion of thyroid hormones with an effect of metabolic activation is increased as surrounding temperature is decreased, (2) my curiosity about a perspective derived from blood metabolomic data, and (3) a request to find “circulating substances which support diving behaviors” from a big senior scientist, are briefly introduced with unsolved questions.