The relative importance of skin oxygen uptake in the naturally buried plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, exposed to graded hypoxia.
Cutaneous O2-uptake has been estimated in plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, naturally buried in sediment as the difference between total O2-uptake, measured in a flow-through respirometer, and branchial O2-uptake calculated from direct and continuous recordings of gill water flow and O2-extraction from the ventilatory current. At conditions of aerated water cutaneous O2-uptake made up 27% of total uptake. During exposure to hypoxic water, cutaneous O2-uptake declined less than O2-uptake across the gills. Hence the relative importance of cutaneous O2-uptake increased with progressive hypoxia, making up 37% of total at a water PO2 of 40 mm Hg. Factors are discussed which may affect the level of cutaneous O2-uptake at changing conditions of ambient O2-availability.
D000818:Animals; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D005880:Gills / Q000378:metabolism; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*