scholarly journals Oxygen supply capacity breathes new life into critical oxygen partial pressure (Pcrit)

2021 ◽  
Vol 224 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad A. Seibel ◽  
Alyssa Andres ◽  
Matthew A. Birk ◽  
Alexandra L. Burns ◽  
C. Tracy Shaw ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The critical oxygen partial pressure (Pcrit), typically defined as the PO2 below which an animal's metabolic rate (MR) is unsustainable, is widely interpreted as a measure of hypoxia tolerance. Here, Pcrit is defined as the PO2 at which physiological oxygen supply (α0) reaches its maximum capacity (α; µmol O2 g−1 h−1 kPa−1). α is a species- and temperature-specific constant describing the oxygen dependency of the maximum metabolic rate (MMR=PO2×α) or, equivalently, the MR dependence of Pcrit (Pcrit=MR/α). We describe the α-method, in which the MR is monitored as oxygen declines and, for each measurement period, is divided by the corresponding PO2 to provide the concurrent oxygen supply (α0=MR/PO2). The highest α0 value (or, more conservatively, the mean of the three highest values) is designated as α. The same value of α is reached at Pcrit for any MR regardless of previous or subsequent metabolic activity. The MR need not be constant (regulated), standardized or exhibit a clear breakpoint at Pcrit for accurate determination of α. The α-method has several advantages over Pcrit determination and non-linear analyses, including: (1) less ambiguity and greater accuracy, (2) fewer constraints in respirometry methodology and analysis, and (3) greater predictive power and ecological and physiological insight. Across the species evaluated here, α values are correlated with MR, but not Pcrit. Rather than an index of hypoxia tolerance, Pcrit is a reflection of α, which evolves to support maximum energy demands and aerobic scope at the prevailing temperature and oxygen level.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad A. Seibel ◽  
Curtis Deutsch

AbstractPhysiological oxygen supply capacity is associated with athletic performance and cardiovascular health and is thought to cause hypometabolic scaling in diverse species. Environmental oxygen is widely believed to be limiting of metabolic rate and aerobic scope, setting thermal tolerance and body size limits with implications for species diversity and biogeography. Here we derive a quantifiable linkage between maximum and basal metabolic rate and their temperature, size and oxygen dependencies. We show that, regardless of size or temperature, the capacity for oxygen supply precisely matches the maximum evolved demand at the highest persistently available oxygen pressure which, for most species assessed, is the current atmospheric pressure. Any reduction in oxygen partial pressure from current values will result in a decrement in maximum metabolic performance. However, oxygen supply capacity does not constrain thermal tolerance and does not cause hypometabolic scaling. The critical oxygen pressure, typically viewed as an indicator of hypoxia tolerance, instead reflects adaptations for aerobic scope. This simple new relationship redefines many important physiological concepts and alters their ecological interpretation.One sentence summary: Metabolism is not oxygen limited


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Seibel ◽  
A. Andres ◽  
M. A. Birk ◽  
A. L. Burns ◽  
C. T. Shaw ◽  
...  

AbstractThe critical oxygen partial pressure (Pcrit) is most commonly defined as the oxygen partial pressure below which an animal’s standard metabolic rate can no longer be maintained. It is widely interpreted as measure of hypoxia tolerance, which influences a species’ aerobic scope and, thus, constrains biogeography. However, both the physiology underlying that interpretation and the methodology used to determine Pcrit remain topics of active debate. The debate remains unresolved in part because Pcrit, as defined above, is a purely descriptive metric that lacks a clear mechanistic basis. Here we redefine Pcrit as the PO2 at which physiological oxygen supply is maximized and refer to these values, thus determined, as Pcrit-α. The oxygen supply capacity (α) is a species- and temperature-specific coefficient that describes the slope of the relationship between the maximum achievable metabolic rate and PO2. This α is easily determined using respirometry and provides a precise and robust estimate of the minimum oxygen pressure required to sustain any metabolic rate. To determine α, it is not necessary for an individual animal to maintain a consistent metabolic rate throughout a trial (i.e. regulation) nor for the metabolic rate to show a clear break-point at low PO2. We show that Pcrit-α can be determined at any metabolic rate as long as the organisms’ oxygen supply machinery reaches its maximum capacity at some point during the trial. We reanalyze published representative Pcrit trials for 40 species across five phyla, as well as complete datasets from six additional species, five of which have not previously been published. Values determined using the Pcrit-α method are strongly correlated with Pcrit values reported in the literature. Advantages of Pcrit-α include: 1) Pcrit-α is directly measured without the need for complex statistics that hinder measurement and interpretation; 2) it makes clear that Pcrit is a measure of oxygen supply, which does not necessarily reflect hypoxia tolerance; 3) it alleviates many of the methodological constraints inherent in existing methods; 4) it provides a means of predicting the maximum metabolic rate achievable at any PO2, 5) Pcrit-α sheds light on the temperature- and size-dependence of oxygen supply and metabolic rate and 6) Pcrit-α can be determined with greater precision than traditional Pcrit.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-291
Author(s):  
Lloyd A Trueblood

Abstract Salps are pelagic tunicates that play an important role in carbon cycling by filter feeding and packaging waste into dense fecal pellets that sink rapidly to the deep ocean. There has been limited research on salp physiology and no studies that examine how changes in environmental factors such as temperature and dissolved oxygen impact basic physiological processes. Here I examine temperature and oxygen partial pressure effect on metabolism in blastozooids of Salpa fusiformis. Routine metabolic rates of 1.66 and 3.95 μmol O2 g−1 h−1 wet weight at 10°C and 17°C, respectively, resulted in a Q10 = 3.45. The observed decrease in metabolism associated with decreased temperature, as well as hypoxia tolerance, is explored in the context of observed vertical migrations into hypoxic waters in the California Current, and potential impacts on carbon output. Metabolic rates for S. fusiformis are compared to metabolic rates published for other species of salps and gelatinous zooplankton. Expansion of this work across a broader set of species is critical to quantify the impact climate change may have on salps and their role in marine carbon cycling.


2017 ◽  
Vol 220 (23) ◽  
pp. 4432-4439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward P. Snelling ◽  
Rebecca Duncker ◽  
Karl K. Jones ◽  
Erinn P. Fagan-Jeffries ◽  
Roger S. Seymour

1987 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. T. Jacob ◽  
A. K. Shukla

Nickel orthosilicate (Ni2SiO4) has been found to decompose into its component binary oxides in oxygen potential gradients at 1373 K. Nickel oxide was formed at the high oxygen potential boundary, while silica was detected at the low oxygen potential side. Significant porosity and fissures were observed near the Ni2SiO4/SiO2 interface and the SiO2 layer. The critical oxygen partial pressure ratio required for decomposition varied from 1.63 to 2.15 as the oxygen pressures were altered from 1.01 ⊠ 105 to 2.7X 10−4 Pa, well above the dissociation pressure of Ni2SiO4. Platinum markers placed at the boundaries of the Ni2SiO4 sample indicated growth of NiO at the higher oxygen potential boundary, without any apparent transport of material to the low oxygen potential side. However, significant movement of the bulk Ni2SiO4 crystal with respect to the marker was not observed. The decomposition of the silicate occurs due to the unequal rates of transport of Ni and Si. The critical oxygen partial pressure ratio required for decomposition is related both to the thermodynamic stability of Ni2SiO4 with respect to component oxides and the ratio of diffusivities of nickel and silicon. Kinetic decomposition of multicomponent oxides, first discovered by Schmalzried, Laqua, and co-workers [H. Schmalzried, W. Laqua, and P. L. Lin, Z. Natur Forsch. Teil A 34, 192 (1979); H. Schmalzried and W. Laqua, Oxid. Met. 15, 339 (1981); W. Laqua and H. Schmalzried, Chemical Metallurgy—A Tribute to Carl Wagner (Metallurgical Society of the AIME, New York, 1981), p. 29] has important consequences for their use at high temperatures and in geochemistry.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 301
Author(s):  
Daniel Dorow-Gerspach ◽  
Dieter Mergel ◽  
Matthias Wuttig

Highly conductive TiO2 films with different Nb doping levels (up to 5 at%) were prepared by reactive DC magnetron sputtering under precise control of the oxygen partial pressure. They were deposited on unheated substrates, covered with a protective Si3N4 layer, and subsequently annealed at 300 °C. The doping efficiency of Nb is greater than 90%. Conductivity is a maximum for a partly oxidized target in the transition range. The best films exhibit a resistivity of 630 µΩ cm and a mobility of 7.6 cm2/Vs combined with a high transparency above 70%. Comparing the behavior of undoped and Nb-containing films, intrinsic limits of the conductivity in the TiO2−x:Nb system could be observed, and a consistent model explaining these findings is presented. The conductivity is limited—by decreasing electron density due to Nb oxidation—by increasing incorporation formation of Nb2O5 clusters as scattering centers with increasing oxygen partial pressure and Nb concentration, by a transition from the crystalline to the amorphous state of the films below a critical oxygen partial pressure.


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