Respiration flumes for studies of comparative energetics

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In marine and freshwater environments concentrations of dissolved gases can change over the short term in response to stressors such as increased temperature or exposure to environmental pollutants. Our groups study how tolerant modern animals are to different levels of dissolved gases in order to understand their ability to adapt to different stressors today. Concentrations of dissolved gases in the oceans have also changed in the course of the Earth's history, so our studies of the tolerance of modern animals to lower levels of oxygen can be used to infer what the first animals may have tolerated, and therefore what they may have looked like. In this proposal we request funds for a set of flow chambers to measure respiration in aquatic animals in a temperature- and flow-controlled environment. This equipment will allow our six students and PDFs to measure the impact of the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in environmental chambers (ranging in size from half a millilitre to 30 litres) on animals as diverse as sponges and fish, and in embryos, juveniles and adults. The flow flumes will provide data on the thresholds of animals to changes in their water environment. These data will help reconstruct the history of animals and ecosystems on Earth. The data will also be used by federal, provincial and regional governments to establish effective management of marine and freshwater ecosystems today. *****