Respiratory gill surface area of a facultative air-breathing loricariid fish, Rhinelepis strigosa

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (11) ◽  
pp. 2009-2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. T. C. Santos ◽  
M. N. Fernandes ◽  
W. Severi

The respiratory surface area of the gill in relation to body mass of the facultative air-breathing loricariid fish Rhinelepis strigosa was analyzed using logarithmic transformation (log Y = log a + b log W) of the equation Y = aWb. The data revealed differences in growth pattern for each gill element. The increase in gill surface area was not isometric with body mass (b = 0.76). The total number of secondary lamellae (b = 0.38) and the average bilateral surface area of the secondary lamellae (b = 0.46) contributed most to the rate of development of the gill surface area (total area of the secondary lamellae) with increase in body mass. Gill filament length (b = 0.339) was more important than the frequency (number/mm) of secondary lamellae in determining the increase in the total number of secondary lamellae. The number of gill filaments showed the lowest b value, 0.072. Rhinelepis strigosa has a larger gill surface area than most other air-breathing fish, indicating that it is better adapted for breathing in water than in air.

1987 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
FR Roubal

The number of gill filaments, length of gill filament and corresponding surface area affected by individual adults of Haliotrerna spariensis (Monogenea) and Ergasilus sp. and individual adults, subadults and larvae of Alella macrotrachelus (Copepoda) are examined in a large size range of the host, Acanthopagrus australis. The effects of these parasites are analysed as proportions of total filament length and total gill surface area. The parasites arranged in order of increasing number of filaments affected are: Ergasilus sp., larval A. macrotrachelus, H. spariensis, subadult A. macrotrachelus and adult A. macrotrachelus. For Ergasilus sp., H. spariensis and larval A. macrotrachelus, the length of filament affected was constant irrespective of host size; adult A. macrotrachelus affect greater lengths of filament in smaller fish, but subadult stages affect greater lengths in larger fish. Possible reasons for this are discussed. The relative pathogenicity is reduced when filament length is converted to surface area. This reduction is greater in smaller fish because they have a smaller surface area per unit length of filament than larger fish.


1987 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
FR Roubal

As head length (HL) of Acanthopagrus australis increases, fewer gill filaments are added, total gill filament length (TFL) increases linearly, and total gill surface area (TSA) increases exponentially. Changes in surface area components [surface area per lamella (SA), distance between adjacent lamellae (DBT) and number of lamellae per zone on one side of the filament (NPZ)] with increasing HL were examined in the distal, middle and basal zones (relative lengths 3:10:1) of a corresponding filament on the external hemibranch of the four gill arches. SA was the smallest in the basal zone and largest in the middle zone; DBT was greatest in the distal zone and smallest in the basal zone; SA and DBT increased at similar rates in different gill arches within the distal and middle zones but at different rates in each zone within an arch; growth of NPZ in the middle zone differed among gill arches but did not in the distal zone. Surface area of lamellae in the middle zone contributed most to increasing TSA. Compared with other fish of intermediate activity, the estimate of TSA for A. australis was smaller than expected; although DBT and TFL were as expected, SA was smaller than expected; possible reasons include method of measurement in situ, shrinkage caused by fixation, and absence of a weighting factor. The method employed enables large numbers of lamellae and filaments in a large number of fish to be measured, and enables regression equations to be derived that relate surface area per filament zone to head length and filament length in order to estimate the loss of surface area caused by ectoparasites.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 1275-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
George W. Benz ◽  
Kevin S. Dupre

Five blue sharks (Prionace glauca) were examined for gill-infesting copepods. Three species of siphonostomatoid copepods were collected: Gangliopus pyriformis, Phyllothyreus cornutus, and Kroyeria carchariaeglauci. The spatial distribution of K. carchariaeglauci was analyzed. The number of K. carchariaeglauci per shark was positively related to gill surface area and host size. Copepods were unevenly distributed amongst hemibranchs; flanking hemibranchs could be arranged into three statistically homogeneous groups. Female K. carchariaeglauci typically attached themselves within the middle 40% of each hemibranch; males were more evenly dispersed. Eighty percent of all K. carchariaeglauci attached themselves to secondary lamellae, the remainder were in the underlying excurrent water channels. Most K. carchariaeglauci were located between 10 and 25 mm along the lengths of gill filaments. Overall, the spatial distribution of K. carchariaeglauci was quite specific in all study planes. Explanation of this distribution is set forth in terms of natural selection pressures; however, the equally plausible explanation that the distribution pattern exhibited by these copepods is phylogenetically determined and may have little to do with contemporary selective constraints should not be ignored.


1980 ◽  
Vol 208 (1172) ◽  
pp. 309-328 ◽  

The gross morphology of Latimeria gills is characterized by well developed interbranchial septa that extend almost to the tips of the filaments of each hemibranch and among living fish resembles most closely that of the gills of the lungfish, Neoceratodus . Morphometric studies have shown that Latimeria has a very small gill surface area ( ca . 18 mm 2 /g body mass). The total length of the gill filaments is low and comparable with that of other fishes caught at similar depths (200 m) off Grande Comore. These fish also have smaller gill areas than those of shallow water species collected during the British-French-American expedition. The second gill arches of embryonic and very small Latimeria have a similar number of filaments to those of the adults and regression analysis suggests that filament length increases more gradually with body size in Latimeria than in most other fish, except for some Pacific fish collected from depths of 1300 m. Latimeria gills were examined in the electron microscope and compared with those of Neoceratodus . In both species the basic structure is similar to that of other fishes, having a water-blood barrier consisting of two epithelial layers, a basement membrane and pillar cell flange layers. The outer surface of the epithelium is covered with microvilli and microridges beneath which are a series of bodies reminiscent of those found in elasmo-branch fish. In Latimeria the spaces between the two epithelial layers contained lymphocytes of several types that were similar to those present in the blood channels. As in other fish secondary lamellae, the marginal channels are lined by endothelial cells containing typical osmiophilic granules, but, unlike in Latimeria and all other fish examined, such bodies were also present in the pillar cells of Neoceratodus . The distance between water and red blood cells in Latimeria is greater (6-8 μm) than in most fish and this, together with the low gill surface area, shows that this fish is ill-equipped for high oxygen uptake. A very sluggish mode of life is indicated and excessive exercise would result in hypoxic stress. The gills thus combine features related to the phylogenetic relations of Latimeria with others that it shares with unrelated fish living in similar habitats.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Narciso Fernandes ◽  
Franscisco Tadeu Rantin ◽  
Ana Lúcia Kalinin ◽  
Sandro EsteVAN Moron

Gill dimensions were analysed in relation to body mass in three erythrinid fish, an air-breathing species, Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus, and two ecologically distinct water-breathing species, Hoplias malabaricus and Hoplias lacerdae. Evidence was obtained of remarkable differences in patterns of increase in filament length, number of secondary lamellae, bilateral area of the secondary lamellae, total area of the secondary lamellae, and mass-specific area of the secondary lamellae among these three species. The analysis showed a large increase in respiratory surface area relative to body mass in H. malabaricus (b = 1.14) compared with Hoplias lacerdae (b = 0.81) and H. unitaeniatus (b = 0.66). This difference is mainly attributed to an increase surface area of individual secondary lamellae together with an increase in filament length and total number of secondary lamellae. The results indicate that the increased respiratory surface area of the H. malabaricus gill facilitates oxygen uptake in hypoxic environments as the fish grows and this suggests that gill dimensions may reflect ecological factors and not only respiratory requirements.


1986 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-42
Author(s):  
GEORGE M. HUGHES ◽  
STEVEN F. PERRY ◽  
JOHANNES PIIPER

In order to study the dependence of the dimensions of the respiratory apparatus on body size and to provide a morphometric basis for the analysis of branchial gas exchange function, the gills of 12 specimens of Scyliorhinus stellaris L., weighing 0.58-2.62 kg, were examined morphometrically. The average values and the local variations of the structural parameters determining diffusive gas transfer properties of the gills were determined. Particular attention was paid to corrections for shrinkage effects in surface area measurements and to corrections for the Holmes and slant effects in measurements of paraffin sections. The shape and size of secondary lamellae varied according to the sampling site on the filament, and filament length varied with its location on the gill arch. Also the water-blood distance varied, mainly because of frequent occurrence of thickenings at mid-height of the secondary lamellae. The total gill surface area increased proportionally to (body mass)0.78, mainly because of an increase in surface area of individual lamellae rather than an increase in their number. Since the thickness of the secondary lamellae varied little with body mass, the observed increase in total filament length in proportion to body mass is attributed to an increase in interlamellar distance. The water-blood distance varied little with body mass. The extent of shrinkage was found to be about 10% of filament length, but because of the compensating increase in secondary lamellar frequency this had no effect on gill area estimates, although it did affect the interlamellar dimensions. Shrinkage of individual secondary lamellae was extremely difficult to estimate, partly because of non-isometric shrinkage within the gill system. Underestimation of secondary lamellar area using paraffin sections could approach 30% mainly because of a reduction in the proportion of the pillar cell system exposed above the level of the gill filaments.


1978 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-184
Author(s):  
P.W.J. ROBOTHAM

The gill area to body weight relationship of two species of loach, Noemacheilus barbatuhu (L.) and Cobitis taenia (L.) was measured. It was found that the secondary lamellar area and the total length of the gill filaments were independently related to the lengths of the fish in each of the species. Both these measurements were similar in the two species. The number of secondary lamellae per mm of gill filament was independent of fish length, and was greater in C. taenia than in N. barbatuhu (45.5 and 36.4 respectively), being the main factor for the far greater total gill area/g calculated for C. taenia than for N. barbatuhis (507.9 and 316 mm2/g respectively). These gill area measurements are, in general, higher than those of other freshwater fish. It is suggested that this is related to the sedentary burrowing habits of the two species.


2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Estevan Moron ◽  
Cássio Arilson de Andrade ◽  
Marisa Narciso Fernandes

The mucous cells (MC) of traíra, Hoplias malabaricus, and jeju, Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus, two ecologically distinct erythrinid species, were analyzed in fish exposed to deionized (DW) and high ion concentration (NaCl and Ca2+) water (HIW) during 15 days to evaluate the MC responses to ion challenge. MCs are localized in the leading and trailing edge and, interlamellar region of the gill filament epithelium but, in H. unitaeniatus, they are also found in the breathing or lamellar epithelium. MC density is lower in H. malabaricus, the exclusively water-breathing fish, than in H. unitaeniatus, a facultative air-breathing fish. The transference to DW or HIW did not change the MC density and surface area, excepting in H. malabaricus, in the first day of exposure to DW. A single MC containing three types of glycoproteins (neutral, acidic and sulphated) was identified in the gill epithelium of both, H. malabaricus and H. unitaeniatus. The amount (based on the intensity of histochemistry reaction) of these glycoproteins differed between the species and were altered after exposure to DW and HIW showing little adjustments in the amount of mucosubstances in the MC of H. malabaricus and reduction of acidic and sulphated glycoproteins in H. unitaeniatus. The decreasing of these glycoproteins in H. unitaeniatus reduced the mucus protection against desiccation of gill tissue when change the ion concentration in water.


1992 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1135-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen R. Talbot ◽  
Martin E. Feder
Keyword(s):  

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