The effects of exhausting activity in normoxic (PO2=20.7 kPa) and hypoxic (PO2<2.7 kPa) water on ventilatory, metabolic and acid-base variables were examined in spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) to determine the role of the air-breathing organ in supporting active metabolism and recovery. The level of aquatic hypoxia used effectively eliminated the gills as a site of O2 uptake, forcing the fish to respire as a unimodal air-breather. Swimming duration (until exhaustion) was not significantly different in normoxic and hypoxic water. Blood gas, acid-base, cardiovascular and ventilatory variables were monitored at intervals from 15 min to 24 h post-exercise. Fish survived exhaustive exercise using a combination of anaerobic metabolism and increased ventilation (aerial and aquatic), despite respiratory and metabolic acidoses. The cardiovascular effects of exercise (heart rate and dorsal aortic blood pressure) were minor. The metabolic effects of exercise were similar to those in unimodal water-breathing fish; however, even hypoxic animals recovered from exhaustive exercise by 24 h. Thus, the results of this study show that air breathing in L. oculatus allows gar to exercise to the same extent in normoxic and hypoxic water and enables them to re-establish blood gas and acid-base balance after exhaustive activity even in hypoxic water. <P>
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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