On the epidermal structure of Boleophthalmus and Scartelaos mudskippers with reference to their adaptation to terrestrial life

Zhang, Jie; Taniguchi, Taichi; Takita, Toru; Ali, Ahmad

doi:10.1007/bf02674263

Cited by 45 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, bucco-pharyngeal blood vessels in G. mirabilis are filled with blood after 10-20min of emersion (Todd and Ebeling, 1966). Phylogenetic analyses of mudskippers suggest that species with an increased reliance on air-breathing possess increased capillary density on the tongue and within the bucco-opercular chamber (Zhang et al, 2000;Gonzales et al, 2011). We also observed, for the first time, 'gulping' activity by emersed mangrove rivulus, strongly implicating this region as a site of gas exchange.…”

Section: The Journal Of Experimental Biologymentioning

confidence: 54%

The amphibious fishKryptolebias marmoratususes alternate strategies to maintain oxygen delivery during aquatic hypoxia and air exposure

Turko

Robertson

Bianchini

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the abundance of oxygen in atmospheric air relative to water, the initial loss of respiratory surface area and accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood of amphibious fishes during emersion may result in hypoxemia. Given that the ability to respond to low oxygen conditions predates the vertebrate invasion of land, we hypothesized that amphibious fishes maintain O 2 uptake and transport while emersed by mounting a co-opted hypoxia response. We acclimated the amphibious fish Kryptolebias marmoratus, which are able to remain active for weeks in both air and water, for 7 days to normoxic brackish water (15‰, ~21 kPa O 2 ; control), aquatic hypoxia (~3.6 kPa), normoxic air (~21 kPa) or aerial hypoxia (~13.6 kPa). Angiogenesis in the skin and bucco-opercular chamber was pronounced in air-versus water-acclimated fish, but not in response to hypoxia. Aquatic hypoxia increased the O 2 -carrying capacity of blood via a large (40%) increase in red blood cell density and a small increase in the affinity of hemoglobin for O 2 (P 50 decreased 11%). In contrast, air exposure increased the hemoglobin O 2 affinity (decreased P 50 ) by 25% without affecting the number of red blood cells. Acclimation to aerial hypoxia both increased the O 2 -carrying capacity and decreased the hemoglobin O 2 affinity . These results suggest that O 2 transport is regulated both by O 2 availability and also, independently, by air exposure. The ability of the hematological system to respond to air exposure independent of O 2 availability may allow extant amphibious fishes, and may also have allowed primitive tetrapods to cope with the complex challenges of aerial respiration during the invasion of land.KEY WORDS: Hemoglobin, Oxygen-carrying capacity, Hemoglobin-oxygen affinity, Air-breathing organ, Air-breathing fish, Mangrove rivulus INTRODUCTIONThe transition from aquatic to terrestrial life represents a major step in vertebrate evolution because the physical conditions between these environments are dramatically different. Oxygen solubility is relatively low in water and even well-oxygenated aquatic environments contain only about 3% of the O 2 available in atmospheric air (Dejours, 1988). Low concentrations of aquatic O 2 , particularly in hypoxic habitats, have often been hypothesized to be one of the driving forces behind the evolution of amphibious or terrestrial life histories because invasion of land would allow animals to exploit the O 2 -rich aerial environment (Graham, 1997). RESEARCH ARTICLEDepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.*Author for correspondence (aturko@uoguelph.ca) Received 4 July 2014; Accepted 15 September 2014Taking advantage of aerial O 2 presents several challenges for fishes. Water-breathing fishes exchange respiratory gases across the gills but during emersion the gill lamellae typically collapse and coalesce, reducing the surface area available for respiration. Accumulation of CO 2 in the blood of emersed fishes, resulting from the low solubility of CO 2 in...

show abstract

Section: The Journal Of Experimental Biologymentioning

confidence: 54%

The amphibious fishKryptolebias marmoratususes alternate strategies to maintain oxygen delivery during aquatic hypoxia and air exposure

Turko

Robertson

Bianchini

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These fishes volitionally emerge from water and spend a significant portion of time on the mudflat surface (Clayton 1993;Ishimatsu and Gonzales 2011). Species of Periophthalmus and Periophthalmodon are usually more terrestrial, whilst Boleophthalmus and Scartelaos are more aquatic; neither of the latter two ventures far from water pools on an exposed mudflat during low tide and both appear to reside in their burrows during high tide, when the burrow openings are covered by the tide (Milward 1974;Zhang et al 2000Zhang et al , 2003Lee et al 2005). Of the four mudskipper genera, species of Periophthalmodon and Periophthalmus are purely carnivorous (Sponder and Lauder 1981;Kruitwagen et al 2007;Kutschera et al 2008), whereas Boleophthalmus species are exclusively herbivorous (Yang et al 2003).…”

Section: -2 Mudskippersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Skin capillaries are distributed in higher densities and with shorter diffusion distance over more exposed parts of the body than in ventral surfaces, which are in contact with the mud when the mudskippers emerge (Park et al 2006;Zhang et al 2000Zhang et al , 2003. In Boleophthalmus and to a lesser extent in Scartelaos, the entire body surface, except the ventral surface, is studded with characteristic papillary protrusions called "dermal bulges".…”

Section: -2 Mudskippersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of the Cardiorespiratory System in Air-Breathing Fishes

Ishimatsu¹

2012

Aqua-BioSci. Monogr. (ABSM)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Several histological studies have been conducted on the skin of various species of air-breathing fish (Mittal and Munshi, 1971;Brown et al 1992;Al-Khadomiy and Hughes, 1988;Yokoya and Tamura, 1992;Suzuki, 1992 ;Zhang et al 2000 andBa-Omar andAl-Riyami, 2007). In this study, we describe the skin structure of I. edentulus, using light and scanning electron microscopy and compare it to adaptations in fishes exploiting a similar niche.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Integumentary Histology of the Amphibious Blenny, Isteblennius edentulus (Forester and Schneider, 1801)

Ba-Omar

Al-Riyami

2009

SQU Journal for Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT:The skin of the amphibious blenny, Istiblennius edentulus, was studied using both light and scanning electron microscopy. Rich vascularisation was found immediately below the epidermis and the dermis. Surface epithelial cells displayed microridges in a fingerprint-like pattern. It was speculated that this increased surface area may aid in the adhesion of mucous secretions as well as to increase the surface area for gas exchange. The number of pores on the dorsal side (6.3x10 3 per mm 2 ) was significantly higher than that on the ventral side (4.3x10 3 per mm 2 ). The thickness of the skin on the dorsal side was measured at 31.6±10.0µm and that on the ventral side was 32.9 ± 7.8µm.

show abstract

On the epidermal structure of Boleophthalmus and Scartelaos mudskippers with reference to their adaptation to terrestrial life

Cited by 45 publications

References 10 publications

The amphibious fishKryptolebias marmoratususes alternate strategies to maintain oxygen delivery during aquatic hypoxia and air exposure

The amphibious fishKryptolebias marmoratususes alternate strategies to maintain oxygen delivery during aquatic hypoxia and air exposure

Evolution of the Cardiorespiratory System in Air-Breathing Fishes

Integumentary Histology of the Amphibious Blenny, Isteblennius edentulus (Forester and Schneider, 1801)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About