Citation
Extreme Bradycardia and Tachycardia in the World's Largest Animal
TL;DR
Blue whale heart rate: 4-8 bpm during dives, 25-37 bpm at surface
This groundbreaking study provided the first direct measurements of blue whale heart rates in the wild. The researchers found heart rates of 4-8 beats per minute during dives - among the slowest ever recorded in any animal. This data confirms the extreme end of metabolic scaling predicted by Kleiber's Law.
For the book's thesis, this research validates the 'blue whale strategy' exemplified by Berkshire Hathaway: massive organisms can survive with extremely low metabolic rates, enabling long fasting periods and opportunistic feeding during others' starvation.
Key Findings from Goldbogen & al. (2019)
- Blue whale heart rate: 4-8 bpm during dives, 25-37 bpm at surface
- Heart rate drops to near-minimum during deep dives
- Metabolic efficiency enables 4-6 month fasting periods
- First direct measurement of wild blue whale cardiac function