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Short and long‐term strategies to facilitate aerial exposure in a galaxiid
Author(s) -
Magellan K.,
Pinchuck S.,
Swartz E. R.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/jfb.12320
Subject(s) - biology , operculum (bryozoa) , term (time) , thickening , fish <actinopterygii> , salmo , zoology , ecology , fishery , physics , quantum mechanics , polymer science , genus , chemistry
This study investigated two potential strategies to survive short and longer‐term aerial exposure in a galaxiid. This scaleless fish possesses cutaneous pores that dilated in the short‐term (15 min–3 h) but contracted over longer periods (15 h) out of water, suggesting that these organs are used to cope with shorter durations of air exposure. Pores on the abdominal surface showed the greatest variation while those on the operculum surface hardly changed. Conversely, thickening of the epithelial layer of secondary gill lamellae showed a slower increase but persisted in an approximately linear fashion over the duration of this study, indicating that this is a strategy that facilitates longer‐term aerial exposure. Thus, this species has the capacity to accommodate both short and long‐term exposure to air.