Hypoxia tolerance in fishes : cardiorespiratory performance and metabolism

Cardiac failure occurs in most vertebrates including humans following even short hypoxia exposure due to an inability to match cardiac energy demand to the limited energy supply. In contrast, hypoxia-tolerant ectothermic vertebrates show the remarkable ability to maintain cardiac energy balance and stable cardiac function during prolonged exposure to severe hypoxia (cardiac hypoxia tolerance, CHT). I investigated how CHT is achieved and its relationship to whole-animal hypoxia tolerance using measurements at multiple physiological levels in two study models: 1) tilapia, a hypoxia-tolerant teleost, and 2) a two-species comparison of elasmobranchs with different hypoxia tolerance. I tested the hypothesis that CHT depends upon the depression of cardiac power output (PO) (i.e., cardiac energy demand) to a level lower than the cardiac maximum glycolytic potential (MGP). All species showed a hypoxic PO depression via bradycardia and my work generally supports this hypothesis. However, in tilapia, hypoxic PO depression is not necessarily required to maintain cardiac energy balance, contrary to previous suggestions, because of an exceptionally high MGP. Thus, in certain species, PO depression may primarily benefit CHT by minimizing fuel use and waste production. I also tested the hypothesis that greater hypoxia tolerance is associated with enhanced hypoxic O₂ supply and consequently enhanced cardiovascular function (i.e., less PO depression and improved cardiac energy balance). My work on elasmobranchs supported this hypothesis and also suggested a role for strategic cardiac O₂ supply via O₂ sparing resulting from metabolic rate depression (MRD) in non-essential tissues. Finally, my work on elasmobranchs showed that critical oxygen tension (Pcrit) predicts hypoxic blood O₂ transport, supporting the use of Pcrit as an indicator of hypoxia tolerance. Next, I tested the hypothesis that hypoxic PO depression is associated with the depression of whole-animal O₂ consumption rate below Pcrit. I found that this occurred in all species, suggesting that modulation of peripheral demand for blood flow (e.g., via MRD) may influence CHT. Finally, my work on in vivo and in situ cardiac responses in tilapia provided little evidence for the hypothesis that hypoxic modulation of aerobic energy production pathways, including provision of aerobic fuels (specifically, fatty acids), contributes to CHT.Science, Faculty ofZoology, Department ofGraduat