As wisely stated in an editorial by Dr. George Brooks, UC Berkeley (2001), “Nature is smarter, and things are more complex than we mortals imagine.” Sure lactate is produced during exercise and is often blamed for causing muscles to fatigue, but there is much more to the story. In fact, research has shown that lactate plays many important physiological roles in the body such as serving as a metabolic fuel […]
Rainbow trout are able to mount an immune response after simply smelling a virus or bacteria, even before they are infected. In a new study shared at the 2023 American Physiology Summit, researchers examined whether smell-induced activation of the immune response also triggers avoidance behaviors in the fish. By creating a maze that included a pathogen at one end, they discovered that the fish do in fact avoid the smell […]
Events causing bodies of water to become hypoxic (low oxygen levels) are increasing with climate change. Water can become hypoxic when it warms up or there are changes in tidal flow, density, wind patterns as well as separation from the main source, such as occurs in a tidepool. While some fish are tolerant of hypoxia and even anoxia (oxygen depleted) environments others, such as Atlantic cod and steelhead trout, rely […]
Hypoxic environments increase ventilation in animals. This helps to bring in more oxygen when environmental levels may be limited. With limited oxygen availability, the body turns to anaerobic metabolism, resulting in the production of lactate ions. These ions are known to indirectly stimulate breathing by lowering blood pH and were more recently discovered to directly stimulate the carotid body to increase breathing. For this reason, lactate ions are thought to […]
When I think of rainbow trout, the first image that comes to mind is usually something like this: In the wild, they look more like this: …not as appetizing, but a lot more fascinating. When salmonid fish like rainbow trout are in environments with limited food or space, they form social hierarchies. In one study of limited food availability, Grobler et al., found that when they placed 4 rainbow trout […]
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 