Host: UNB Fredericton
Dr. Jeffrey Richards from the University of British Columbia presents on the topic of Mechanisms and Evolution of Hypoxia Tolerance in Intertidal Fishes.
One of the goals the research program is to understand the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms that explain variation in hypoxia tolerance among organisms. To accomplish this goal, they used a phylogenetically informed comparative system involving several species of marine fish from the superfamily Cottoidea (sculpins) that show a strong habit zonation along the near-shore environment. Sculpins from the intertidal zone experience daily fluctuations in O2 (and other parameters) and are hypoxia tolerant, whereas subtidal species rarely experience hypoxia and not as hypoxia tolerant. During the course of this seminar, the results that differentiate hypoxia tolerant versus intolerant species and the physiological and molecular responses to hypoxic exposure will be described.