Physiological and behavioural effects of digestion in aquatic vertebrates

胃肠道是一个重要的、多功能的器官，在营养和能量获取的前线。这些功能最终可以产生影响多个生理系统的各种下游后果。因此，大多数生理学研究都集中在未喂食的动物身上。这就消除了消化对所研究的现象可能产生的任何复杂影响。然而，进食和消化对生命是必不可少的，一个完善的生理学观点必须包括消化过程中的生理学。我的课程就是以此为基础的——对消化对水生动物生理和行为的影响有一个基本的了解。消化对鱼类整体盐和水平衡的影响是我之前工作的基础，我打算继续探索，提出诸如鱼类在消化过程中如何调节生理以维持体内平衡，以及周围环境有什么影响等问题。具体来说，我将研究盐和水的运输机制在消化过程中维持平衡的作用，揭示纠正盐和水失衡的机制。我还将研究激素对这些转运机制的调节作用，以揭示这些转运蛋白是如何在整个动物中受到调节的。在检查动物消化过程时，生理本身并不是唯一要考虑的因素——它们的行为也会受到影响，行为和生理之间存在着密切的联系，两者相互影响。利用我之前发现的信息，我将继续这项研究，提出一些问题，比如鱼类在消化食物时的行为是如何改变的，是什么生理因素驱动了这些变化？具体来说，我将研究鱼类对盐度的偏好，以及喂食前盐和水运输的任何预期变化。这将揭示生理学是如何影响动物在消化过程中的行为的。所有这些主题开始形成我研究计划的最终目标——对消化对生理和行为的影响的基本理解，并确定这些影响是如何随着环境的变化而进化的。大多数关于鱼类生理的研究都是在禁食鱼身上进行的，以消除消化对生理的影响。从这个角度来看，我的工作将为鱼类如何生存和改变鱼类生理学领域提供一个更完整的画面。通过了解消化在形成和控制整个生物体的生理机能中的作用，就可以预测自然界中自然和人为的压力源对鱼类的影响。这些预测可以用来保护我们的基本水生资源，通过制定政策，更全面地了解鱼类如何生存和适应。总的来说，生命是多种生理功能在各个层面上的复杂相互作用，完美地结合在一起，以维持动物在其环境中的生存。消化与其他生理系统的复杂相互作用是这方面的一个重要方面，什么是利害攸关的水生资源的未来。通过更清楚地了解生物体如何平衡和维持体内平衡，特别是在消化过程中，我们可以更清楚地了解鱼类生存需要什么，以及它们如何适应变化。

The gastrointestinal tract is an essential, multifunctional organ at the front line of nutrient and energy acquisition. These functions can ultimately produce a variety of downstream consequences affecting multiple physiological systems. As a result, most physiological studies focus on unfed animals. This removes any complicating effects digestion may have on the phenomena being studied. However feeding and digestion are essential for life and a consummate view of physiology must include physiology during digestion. It is upon this that my program is based – to gain a fundamental understanding of the effects of digestion on the physiology, and by extension behaviour, of aquatic animals. The influence of digestion on the overall salt and water balance of fish forms the basis of my previous work which I intend to continue exploring, asking questions like how does the physiology of fish adjust to maintain homeostasis during digestion, and what influence does the surrounding environment have? Specifically, I will investigate the role of salt and water transport mechanisms in maintaining balance during digestion, revealing the mechanism responsible for correcting salt and water imbalances. I will also investigate the role of hormonal regulation of these transport mechanisms to uncover how these transporters are regulated across the entire animal. Physiology itself is not the only factor to consider when examining animals during digestion – their behaviour is affected as well and an intimate link exists between behaviour and physiology, each influencing the other. Using information that I have previously discovered I will continue this research asking questions like how does the behaviour of fishes change while digesting a meal and what is the physiology driving these changes? Specifically, I will look at the salinity preference of fish along with any anticipatory changes in salt and water transport prior to feeding. These will reveal how physiology shapes the behaviour of animals during digestion. All together these themes begin to form the ultimate goal of my research program – a fundamental understanding of the effects of digestion on physiology and behaviour and determining how these effects have evolved in response to a varying environment. A majority of research focusing on fish physiology is conducted on fasting fish to remove the consequences of digestion on physiology. In this light, my work will provide a more complete picture of how fish survive and transform the field of fish physiology. By understanding the role of digestion in shaping and controlling the physiology of the whole organism, predictions can be made regarding the effects of stressors, both natural and man-made in nature, on fish species. These predictions can be used to preserve our essential aquatic resources by forming policy with a more complete understanding of how fish survive and adapt. Overall, life is a complex interaction of a multitude of physiological functions at all levels of integration, meshing together perfectly to sustain an animal in its environment. The complex interactions of digestion with other physiological systems is an important facet of this and what is at stake is the future of aquatic resources. By understanding more clearly how organisms balance and maintain homeostasis, especially during digestion which has gone overlooked, we can more clearly understand what fish require to survive and how they adapt to change.