Analysis of why sea turtles swim slowly: a metabolic and mechanical approach

Animals with high resting metabolic rates and low drag coefficients typically have fast optimal swim speeds in order to minimise energy costs per unit travel distance. The cruising swim speeds of sea turtles (0.5–0.6 m s−1) are slower than those of seabirds and marine mammals (1–2 m s−1). This study measured the resting metabolic rates and drag coefficients of sea turtles to answer two questions: (1) do turtles swim at the optimal swim speed?;...