Secrets to Swimming Like an Aquatic Creature

I've always marveled at how some aquatic creatures can swim. Particularly fascinating to me are otters, seals and alligators who all seem to have some unfathomable ability to slip through the water at high speed. Here's an article that describes the results of a study funded by the National Science Foundation and University of Utah showing some of that and what has been discovered that may lead to this skill set. I've posted a key paragraph here from the U or Utah, but visit the article to get more.

"The discovery in American alligators suggests "special muscles that manipulate the position of the lungs - and thus the center of buoyancy - may be an underappreciated but important means for other aquatic animals to maneuver in water without actively swimming," says C.G. Farmer, an assistant professor of biology."

Can some of this be applied to human swimming? Perhaps. It seems to me that air in the lungs can be shifted to the upper or lower abdomen - that may be a crock (bad pun), but it feels that way. Try it by floating on your back and holding the air near your neck, then closer to your belly.