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Effects of acute and chronic hypoxia on acid–base regulation, hematology, ion, and osmoregulation of juvenile American paddlefish

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Abstract

Despite the increasing prevalence of hypoxia in natural habitats occupied by the American paddlefish, basal bony fish, and ram ventilator, information about its response to hypoxia is scarce. To understand the physiological and biochemical responses of juvenile paddlefish (~150 g) to acute (<24 h) and chronic hypoxia (≥24 h), blood oxygen transport, blood acid–base balance, and metabolic stress were evaluated under four different partial pressures of oxygen [pO2; normoxia (148 mmHg), mild hypoxia (89 mmHg), moderate hypoxia (59 mmHg), and extreme hypoxia (36 mmHg)], all at 21 °C. Arterial blood samples were collected from paddlefish after they had been exposed to treatments for 0.25, 2, 6, 24, and 72 h, and analyzed for hematocrit, pO2, total oxygen content, oxygen saturation, pCO2, pH, hemoglobin, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Cl−, glucose, and lactate. Mild hypoxia only caused a reduction in blood pO2 and oxygen saturation. Both acute and chronic moderate and extreme hypoxia caused a decrease in blood pH, pO2, total oxygen content, plasma Na+, and Cl− at all time points. Acute moderate and extreme hypoxia resulted in an increase in blood pCO2, plasma glucose, lactate, and hematocrit. Chronic exposure to moderate hypoxia resulted in an increase in plasma lactate, red blood cell count, and hemoglobin. This study shows that paddlefish are able to physiologically compensate for mild hypoxia, but exhibit secondary stress responses and are unable to return to homeostasis when exposed to both acute and chronic moderate hypoxia, and die after 3–8 h of extreme hypoxia.

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to express their sincere gratitude to the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, for providing funding. We would also like to thank the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture and M. Fondren and the staff of the South Farm Warmwater Aquaculture Research Facility at Mississippi State University for providing assistance and advice for the entire duration of this research project. Our appreciation also goes to Dr. Steve Mims at the aquaculture division of Kentucky State University for all their support throughout the experiment including providing fish and advice. We also thank Hammed A. Olanrewaju of the USDA Poultry Research Unit for helping with sample analysis. Furthermore, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of this manuscript for their constructive comments.

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  1. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, P. O. Box 9690, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA

    Daniel L. Aboagye & Peter J. Allen

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  1. Daniel L. Aboagye
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Correspondence to Daniel L. Aboagye.

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Communicated by H. V. Carey.

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Aboagye, D.L., Allen, P.J. Effects of acute and chronic hypoxia on acid–base regulation, hematology, ion, and osmoregulation of juvenile American paddlefish. J Comp Physiol B 188, 77–88 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-017-1104-7

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