US-Brazil Cooperative Research: Gut Microclimate in Neotropical Armored Catfish (Loricariidae)

这个美洲计划奖将支持美国和巴西之间的研究项目博士杰伊A。纳尔逊，陶森大学，和圣保罗联邦大学的弗朗西斯科博士。 本研究的目的是探讨甲鲶的消化系统与肠道环境。 这些研究人员将使用大型的甲虫来检验零假设，即甲虫胃肠道的内腔与其他脊椎动物一样是厌氧的。 他们将研究只呼吸水或同时呼吸水和空气的动物的胃肠道和血液排出的环境。与大多数动物的肠道高度厌氧不同，甲鲶使用消化道从随水吞入的空气中吸收氧气，因此肠道可能是有氧环境。 我们目前对草食性鱼类的消化生理学的理解很差，并且有证据表明，甲虫具有奇怪而独特的消化生理学，重要的是，我们扩大了这方面的知识。 在这项工作中，纳尔逊将联合收割机他的呼吸生理学知识与兰廷的能力，研究生理学的大型甲。 这项研究的结果应该有助于了解这些鱼的呼吸和消化，这构成了一个高度多样化和生态重要的草食性鱼类，很少受到科学的关注。

This Americas Program award will support a US-Brazil research project between Dr. Jay A. Nelson, Towson University, and Dr. Francisco Tadeu Rantin, Federal University of Sao Paulo. The goal of the project is to investigate the digestive system and gut environment of the loricariid catfish. These researchers will use large loricariids to test the null hypothesis that the lumen of the loricariid gastrointestinal tract is anaerobic as in other vertebrates. They will investigate the environment of the gastrointestinal tract and the blood draining it in animals that are breathing either water only or both water and air.Unlike the guts of most animals, which are highly anaerobic, loricariid catfishes use their digestive tracts to uptake oxygen from air gulped in with water, so that the gut may be an aerobic environment. Our current understanding of the digestive physiology of herbivorous fishes is poor, and given the evidence that loricariids have a strange and unique digestive physiology, it is important that we broaden this knowledge. In this work Nelson will combine his knowledge of respiratory physiology with Rantin's capabilities for studying the physiology of large loricariids. The results of this study should aid in understanding the respiration and digestion of these fish, which constitute a highly diverse and ecologically important group of herbivorous fishes that has received little scientific attention.