Summary
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1.
Hemolymph acid-base balance (pH,P CO 2 and bicarbonate concentration) was measured in shore crabs,Carcinus maenas, exposed first for 17–18 h to normoxic seawater at three levels of titration alkalinity, TAw 0.95, 2.5 and 4.5 meq·l−1, either at low (ca. 0.3 Torr) or at high (ca. 4.3 Torr) ambientP CO 2 (PwCO 2), and subsequently exposed acutely for 2 h to hyperoxia in the same ambient acid-base conditions. WaterP CO 2 was controlled with a pH-CO2-stat system in all experiments.
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2.
At low constantPwCO 2 (0.3 Torr), decreased TAw led to an uncompensated hypercapnic acidosis with hemolymphP CO 2 increased and hemolymph pH decreased. At highPwCO 2 (4.3 Torr) however, hemolymph acid-base state was independent of TAw.
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3.
Acute hyperoxia induced hypercapnic acidosis in all conditions. At lowPwCO 2, the hyperoxia-induced hypercapnia was more marked at low than at high TAw whereas at highPwCO 2 it was of the same magnitude whatever the TAw.
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4.
The internal acid-base state thus depends on TAw at constant low inspiredPwCO 2, probably via related changes of the water CO2 capacitance coefficient, ΔCwCO 2/ΔPwCO 2, due to buffering of excreted CO2 by carbonate ions at high water pH. Therefore, all the acid-base properties of the ambient water, pH,P CO 2 and carbonate alkalinity, must be taken into account in studying acid-base balance of water-breathers.
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Abbreviations
- CA :
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carbonate alkalinity
- PwO 2,PwCO 2O2, CO2 :
-
partial pressure of water phase
- TAw :
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titration alkalinity of water
- v :
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mixed venous blood (pH,P CO 2 etc.)
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Truchot, J.P. Water carbonate alkalinity as a determinant of hemolymph acid-base balance in the shore crab,Carcinus maenas: a study at two different ambientP CO 2 andP O 2 levels. J Comp Physiol B 154, 601–606 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00684414
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00684414