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Lefevre, S., Domenici, P., & McKenzie, D. J. (2014). Swimming in air-breathing fishes. Journal of Fish Biology, 84(3), 661–681.
Résumé: Fishes with bimodal respiration differ in the extent of their reliance on air breathing to support aerobic metabolism, which is reflected in their lifestyles and ecologies. Many freshwater species undertake seasonal and reproductive migrations that presumably involve sustained aerobic exercise. In the six species studied to date, aerobic exercise in swim flumes stimulated air-breathing behaviour, and there is evidence that surfacing frequency and oxygen uptake from air show an exponential increase with increasing swimming speed. In some species, this was associated with an increase in the proportion of aerobic metabolism met by aerial respiration, while in others the proportion remained relatively constant. The ecological significance of anaerobic swimming activities, such as sprinting and fast-start manoeuvres during predator-prey interactions, has been little studied in air-breathing fishes. Some species practise air breathing during recovery itself, while others prefer to increase aquatic respiration, possibly to promote branchial ion exchange to restore acid-base balance, and to remain quiescent and avoid being visible to predators. Overall, the diversity of air-breathing fishes is reflected in their swimming physiology as well, and further research is needed to increase the understanding of the differences and the mechanisms through which air breathing is controlled and used during exercise.
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McKenzie, D. J., Steffensen, J. F., Taylor, E. W., & Abe, A. S. (2012). The contribution of air breathing to aerobic scope and exercise performance in the banded knifefish Gymnotus carapo L. J. Exp. Biol., 215(8), 1323–1330.
Résumé: The contribution of air breathing to aerobic metabolic scope and exercise performance was investigated in a teleost with bimodal respiration, the banded knifefish, submitted to a critical swimming speed (U-crit) protocol at 30 degrees C. Seven individuals (mean +/- s.e.m. mass 89 +/- 7. g, total length 230 +/- 4. mm) achieved a U-crit of 2.1 +/- 1. body. lengths. (BL). s(-1) and an active metabolic rate (AMR) of 350 +/- 21. mg. kg(-1). h(-1), with 38 +/- 6% derived from air breathing. All of the knifefish exhibited a significant increase in air-breathing frequency (f(AB)) with swimming speed. If denied access to air in normoxia, these individuals achieved a U-crit of 2.0 +/- 0.2. BL. s(-1) and an AMR of 368 +/- 24. mg. kg(-1). h(-1) by gill ventilation alone. In normoxia, therefore, the contribution of air breathing to scope and exercise was entirely facultative. In aquatic hypoxia (P-O2=4. kPa) with access to normoxic air, the knifefish achieved a U-crit of 2.0 +/- 0.1. BL. s(-1) and an AMR of 338 +/- 29. mg. kg(-1). h(-1), similar to aquatic normoxia, but with 55 +/- 5% of AMR derived from air breathing. Indeed, f(AB) was higher than in normoxia at all swimming speeds, with a profound exponential increase during exercise. If the knifefish were denied access to air in hypoxia, U-crit declined to 1.2 +/- 0.1. BL. s(-1) and AMR declined to 199 +/- 29. mg. kg(-1). h(-1). Therefore, air breathing allowed the knifefish to avoid limitations to aerobic scope and exercise performance in aquatic hypoxia.
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