Cardiorespiratory interactions in the Pacific spiny dogfish,Squalus suckleyi

Elasmobranchs are a group of cartilaginous fish with no direct sympathetic innervation of the heart or gills. Fast cardiorespiratory regulation is controlled solely by the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Cardiovascular changes associated with ventilation are commonly present in the form of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and as cardiorespiratory synchrony (CRS in which there is a 1:1 beat to breath ratio). The latter has been hypothesized to maximize oxygen uptake coupling the pulsatile flows of blood and water in the gills. Given this, we hypothesized that CRS should be more prevalent in situations of low oxygen supply and RSA should be abolished by vagotomy. To test this, we investigated the role of the vagus nerve in mediating cardiorespiratory responses to changing environmental oxygen conditions in the elasmobranch; Squalus suckleyi. Hypoxia and hyperoxia had little effect on heart rate but did alter breathing frequency and amplitude. Atropine yielded an overall tachycardia in all oxygen conditions and abolished all heart rate variability (HRV) suggesting that HRV solely reflects fluctuating vagal tonus on the heart. Regardless of the presence of atropine, hypoxia still induced an increase in ventilation rate and depth. CRS was only found during progressive hyperoxia post atropine when heart rate was uninhibited and ventilation was slowed due to the increase in oxygen supply suggesting that in Squalus suckleyi CRS is an epiphenomenon and not actively regulated to maximize gas exchange efficiency.