Measurement of gill area in fishes: practices and problems

Hughes, G. M.

doi:10.1017/s0025315400030319

Cited by 119 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…In summary, gill morphometrics and the various blood parameters indicate that adult Pleuragr-amrna antarcticum have a rathel-sluggish mode of life (Kunzmann 1990), as compared to other fish species (Hughes 1984). This notion is quite different from our conventional concept of pelagic schooling fishes from warmer regions, which usually have high activity levels.…”

Section: Life Historymentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Gill morphometrics reflect oxygen requirements, indicate activity levels, and permit conclusions about the mode of l~f e of a particular species. Of special interest in this respect are gill surface area, water-blood diffusion distance and the general gill structure (Hughes 1984). Most fish species adjust certain haematolog~cal parameters according to environmental conditions (Val et al 1990) Respiratory blood properties, especially oxygen carrying capacity dnd oxygen affinity, respond to evolutionary selective pressure (Wells et al , 1989 It is the purpose of this article to compile our results about the adaptations of Pleuragramma antarcticum to pelagic life in the extremely cold shelf waters of the Weddell Sea.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adaptations of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces:Nototheniidae) to pelagic life in high-Antarctic waters

Wöhrmann¹,

Hagen²,

Kunzmann³

1997

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Most fishes in Antarctic waters belong to the suborder Notothc,nioidei, highly developed perciform fishes whlch have been able to occupy not only a variety of benthic but also pclagic niches in Antarctic waters. One of the rare truly pelagic fish species. Pleuragramma antarctlcurn, plays a pivotal role in high-Antarctic food webs, due to its exceptional abundance. To investigdte the life history of P.antarctic~lrn more than 16 000 specimens were collected in the W~d d e l l Sea during various cruises with RV 'Polarstern' Apart from the more general life cycle adaptations with respect to reproduction, migrations, and feeding behaviour. P. antarct~cum has developed a number of specific biochcmical and physiological adaptations to cope with the environmental conditions in these permanently cold and highly scasonal Antarctic waters. During its second summer P. anlarcticum starts to accumulate large lipid deposits, mainly in the form of triacylglycerols. These low-density compounds provide the species with hydrostatic lift, an important factor for a pelagic fish without a swlm bladder. The lipid stores may also serve as energy reserves. I lighly polar brain gangliosides suggest wide-ranging neurophysiological adaptations to ensure proper functioning of the nervous system in icy waters. To avoid freezing in the presence of frazil ice P. antarctlcum contains efficient antifreeze glycoproteins. A newly discovered glycoprotein acts as an additional antifreeze agent. Although pelagic, adult P antarcticum are rather sluggish, which is indicated by the small total gill area as well as blood physiological characteristics. Such behaviour diminishes routine energy costs. Blood viscosity is reduced and at least 2 major haemog l o b~n s are found Provided that these haemoglobins are functionally different, they indicate a strong relationship between physiological and biochemical adaptations of the oxygen transport system and life style P antar-cfcum represents a prime esdmple of the colnplexity of adaptations necessary to thrive in the pelagic realm of Antarctic shelf waters, a niche largely unoccup~cd by other fish species.

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Section: Life Historymentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptations of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces:Nototheniidae) to pelagic life in high-Antarctic waters

Wöhrmann¹,

Hagen²,

Kunzmann³

1997

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Total gill surface area was measured on the left arches using standard methods (Hughes, 1984). The four arches were dissected and digital pictures of all filaments were taken using a stereomicroscope to count filament number and measure the length of all filaments.…”

Section: Gill Morphometricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological tradeoffs may underlie the evolution of hypoxia tolerance and exercise performance in sunfish (Centrarchidae)

Crans

Pranckevicius

Scott

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Tradeoffs between hypoxia tolerance and aerobic exercise performance appear to exist in some fish taxa, even though both of these traits are often associated with a high O 2 transport capacity. We examined the physiological basis for this potential tradeoff in four species of sunfish from the family Centrarchidae. Hypoxia tolerance was greatest in rock bass, intermediate in pumpkinseed and bluegill and lowest in largemouth bass, based on measurements of critical O 2 tension (P crit ) and O 2 tension at loss of equilibrium (P O2 at LOE). Consistent with there being a tradeoff between hypoxia tolerance and aerobic exercise capacity, the least hypoxia-tolerant species had the highest critical swimming speed (U crit ) during normoxia and suffered the greatest decrease in U crit in hypoxia. There was also a positive correlation between U crit in normoxia and P O2 at LOE, which remained significant after accounting for phylogeny using phylogenetically independent contrasts. Several sub-organismal traits appeared to contribute to both hypoxia tolerance and aerobic exercise capacity (reflected by traits that were highest in both rock bass and largemouth bass), such as the gas-exchange surface area of the gills, the pH sensitivity of haemoglobin-O 2 affinity, and the activities of lactate dehydrogenase and the gluconeogenic enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in the liver. Some other suborganismal traits were uniquely associated with either hypoxia tolerance (low sensitivity of haemoglobin-O 2 affinity to organic phosphates, high pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities in the heart) or aerobic exercise capacity (capillarity and fibre size of the axial swimming muscle). Therefore, the cumulative influence of a variety of respiratory and metabolic traits can result in physiological tradeoffs associated with the evolution of hypoxia tolerance and aerobic exercise performance in fish.

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“…Our measurements of gill morphology followed Hughes (Hughes, 1984), and were conducted using a Leica MZ16A stereo-microscope (Leica Microsystems GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany). Measurements were made in ImageJ (Rasband, 2011).…”

Section: Gill Morphometricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms underlying parallel reductions in aerobic capacity in non-migratory threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations

Dalziel

Schulte

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYNon-migratory, stream-resident populations of threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, have a lower maximum oxygen consumption (M O2,max ) than ancestral migratory marine populations. Here, we examined laboratory-bred stream-resident and marine crosses from two locations (West and Bonsall Creeks) to determine which steps in the oxygen transport and utilization cascade evolved in conjunction with, and thus have the potential to contribute to, these differences in M O2,max . We found that West Creek stream-resident fish have larger muscle fibres (not measured in Bonsall fish), Bonsall Creek stream-resident fish have smaller ventricles, and both stream-resident populations have evolved smaller pectoral adductor and abductor muscles. However, many steps of the oxygen cascade did not evolve in stream-resident populations (gill surface area, hematocrit, mean cellular hemoglobin content and the activities of mitochondrial enzymes per gram ventricle and pectoral muscle), arguing against symmorphosis. We also studied F1 hybrids to determine which traits in the oxygen cascade have a genetic architecture similar to that of M O2,max . In West Creek, M O2,max , abductor and adductor size all showed dominance of marine alleles, whereas in Bonsall Creek, M O2,max and ventricle mass showed dominance of stream-resident alleles. We also found genetically based differences among marine populations in hematocrit, ventricle mass, pectoral muscle mass and pectoral muscle pyruvate kinase activity. Overall, reductions in pectoral muscle mass evolved in conjunction with reductions in M O2,max in both stream-resident populations, but the specific steps in the oxygen cascade that have a genetic basis similar to that of M O2,max , and are thus predicted to have the largest impact on M O2,max , differ among populations. Supplementary material available online at

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Measurement of gill area in fishes: practices and problems

Cited by 119 publications

References 26 publications

Adaptations of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces:Nototheniidae) to pelagic life in high-Antarctic waters

Adaptations of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces:Nototheniidae) to pelagic life in high-Antarctic waters

Physiological tradeoffs may underlie the evolution of hypoxia tolerance and exercise performance in sunfish (Centrarchidae)

Mechanisms underlying parallel reductions in aerobic capacity in non-migratory threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations

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