Swim tunnel respirometry system

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Our research group investigates two major issues: (1) how fish store, mobilize and use their energy reserves to support swimming, and (2) how their normal metabolic responses to exercise are modified by environmental pollutants, by a lack of oxygen (hypoxia), and by changes in water temperature. We are measuring how metabolic fuels are used to power muscles during swimming, and how the presence of toxic substances in aquatic environments (industrial pollutants, human pharmaceuticals), hypoxia, and higher water temperatures affect these normal processes. Because the ability to swim is absolutely crucial for survival (predator-prey interactions) and successful reproduction in fish, a detailed understanding of the metabolic processes that allow locomotory muscles to function normally is essential. The equipment requested in this application is a swim tunnel system (the equivalent of a treadmill for aquatic animals) which we will use to measure the metabolism of active fish under controlled conditions of water velocity, dissolved oxygen level, and water temperature. We will determine whether these environmental effects measurable inside fish cells - at the molecular level - are actually translated to changes in swimming performance - at the whole organism level. This equipment will allow for simulated long-distance migrations in the laboratory to understand, for example, how salmon locomotion is affected by recent changes in their aquatic environment (pollution, global warming). It will be used to train the next generation of biologists how to monitor normal metabolic processes in animals and to teach graduate students how to assess whether wildlife is disrupted by modern human activities.