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User:Milligancl

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Course Instructor, Biology 4931G, 2011/12 | Seminar in Physiology

  • SAMPLE OF USER PAGE ENTRY
  • Article to review: Hypoxia (environmental)
  • (250 word, minimum, critique; how and why to make it better)
  • There is no real mention of physiological and/or ecological consequences of hypoxia to fish. This is important because aquatic hypoxia is becoming increasingly common in near-shore as well as some off shore areas.
  • Three key references:
  • 1. Ecological impact of hypoxia on fish [1]
    • This article mapped out the habitat use by bay anchovy and their key mesoplankton prey and dissolved oxygen levels. The relevant findings are:
      • in the summer months, low oxygen in the bottom layers of the Chesapeake Bay alters the vertical migration of the bay anchovy because bottom
      • as a consequence, fish are limited to the upper, oxygenated layers of the surface waters
      • the mesoplankton prey appear to use the oxygen-poor layers as a refuge, thus potentially limiting access by the bay anchovy
      • this separation of predator and prey may lead to reduction in the bay anchovy population, due to starvation
  • 2. Physiological adaptations in fish routinely encountering hypoxia as part of their life cycle [2]
    • This is a good review article summarizing the issues associated with life in a hypoxic environment and adaptations shown by intertidal fishes. Some key findings are:
      • metabolism is suppressed at low oxygen levels
      • fishes in low oxygen environments tend to have larger mass-specific gill surface areas, and high-affinity hemoglobin
      • the most hypoxia tolerant species tended to show behavioural adapatations, including aquatic surface respiration and aerial emergence


  • Citations