Exhaustive exercise in cannulated sea lampreys, Petromyzon marinus, resulted in a marked extracellular acidosis in the arterial blood which had both a respiratory and a metabolic component. Blood CO2 tension (PCO2) returned to control levels within an hour after exercise, but the metabolic acidosis had a somewhat longer time course and the extracellular pH (pHe) did not fully recover until the 4 h recovery sample. The magnitude and duration of the changes in both the plasma lactate concentration and the concentration of metabolic protons were very similar and the maximal proton deficit after exercise was, therefore, only 1.5 mequiv l-1. In contrast to the changes in pHe, there were no significant changes in the erythrocyte pH (pHi) following the exercise period. The regulation of pHi was apparently not adrenergically mediated, however, since addition of catecholamines to lamprey blood in vitro had no significant effect on pHi. In addition, the period of exhaustive exercise in vivo was not associated with any significant changes in the mean cellular hemoglobin concentration. The total carbon dioxide concentration in the arterial whole blood and true plasma were both significantly reduced after exercise, but the total carbon dioxide concentration within the erythrocytes was transiently increased. Finally, there was a marked decrease in the arterial PO2 immediately after exercise, which was associated with a significant reduction in the amount of oxygen bound to hemoglobin; however, within 30 min, these values had both returned to normal. The maintenance of pHi presumably contributes to the regulation of oxygen transport in lampreys and it may be particularly important during the brief period immediately after exercise when oxygen transport is clearly compromised. Although several studies have provided evidence that chloride/bicarbonate exchange limitations may exist in agnathan blood in vitro, the present results demonstrate that the characteristics of carbon dioxide transport and acid-base regulation after exercise in P. marinus are not markedly different from those in other lower vertebrates.
2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize shortlist and winner
The JEB Editors are delighted to announce the shortlisted authors for the 2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize. Read the winning paper - Tiny spies: mosquito antennae are sensitive sensors for eavesdropping on frog calls - by Hoover Pantoja-Sanchez and Brian Leavell from Ximena Bernal's lab at Purdue University, USA.
JEB Science Communication Workshop for ECRs
If you’re an early-career researcher interested in science communication and are attending the SEB Annual Conference in Prague this summer, come a day early and join the JEB Editors at a sci comm workshop to learn the key writing skills needed to promote your research to a broad audience beyond your peers (1 July at 14.30-17.30). Places are limited to 24 attendees, and applicants should apply through the SEB registration page by 30 April 2024.
Bridging the gap between controlled conditions and natural habitats in understanding behaviour
Novel technologies enable behavioural experiments with non-model species, in naturalistic habitats and with underexplored behaviours. In their Commentary, Scholz and colleagues discuss how to obtain a deeper understanding of the natural ecology and lifestyle of study animals.
Beluga metabolic measures could help save species
To help save animals from extinction, it’s important to understand what each species needs to survive. This led Jason John et al. to measure the metabolic rates of captive belugas to develop a ‘fish calculator’ showing that the whales need to eat ~23 salmon per day.
ECR Workshop on Positive Peer Review
Are you an ECR looking for tips on how to write concise, astute and useful manuscript reviews? If so, join the JEB Editors at a 2-hour JEB-sponsored Workshop on Positive Peer Review at the Canadian Society of Zoologists annual meeting in Moncton on 9 May 2024 at 13.00-15.00. There are 25 spaces for ECRs and selection is first come, first serve. To sign up, check the ECR Workshop box when you register for the CSZ meeting.
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