A novel oxyconforming response in the freshwater fish Galaxias maculatus

Mauricio A. Urbina, Chris N. Glover, Malcolm E. Forster

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Articlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

How fish oxygen consumption is modulated by external PO2 has long been a matter of interest, yet is an experimentally complicated question to answer. In this study closed and semi-closed respirometry were used to evaluate the oxygen consumption rate of the scaleless galaxiid fish, inanga (Galaxias maculatus) as a function of decreasing external PO2. Both respirometry techniques showed that as environmental oxygen levels declined, oxygen consumption rates also decreased. At no point did inanga regulate oxygen consumption. This is strong evidence that inanga is an oxyconformer. Partitioned respirometry experiments showed that skin plays an important role in oxygen uptake in this fish species, and cutaneous oxygen uptake may have an important role in shaping the oxygen consumption response to hypoxia.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)301-306
Number of pages6
JournalComparative Biochemistry and Physiology -Part A : Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Volume161
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar. 2012

Keywords

  • Closed respirometry
  • Hypoxia
  • Oxyconforming
  • Oxygen consumption
  • Partitioned respirometry
  • Semi-closed respirometry

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