We measured ventilation, oxygen consumption and blood gases in burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) breathing moderate and extreme hypoxic gas mixtures to determine their hypoxic ventilatory threshold (HVT) and to assess if they, like other birds and mammals, exhibit a relationship between HVT and hemoglobin O2 affinity (P50) of their blood. An earlier report of an attenuated ventilatory responsiveness of this species to hypoxia was enigmatic given the low O2 affinity (high P50) of burrowing owl hemoglobin. In the current study, burrowing owls breathing 11% and 9% O2 showed a significantly elevated total ventilation. The arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) at which ventilation is elevated above normoxic values in burrowing owls was 58 mm Hg. This threshold value conforms well to expectations based on the high P50 of their hemoglobin and the HVT vs. P50 relationship for birds developed in this study. Correcting for phylogenetic relatedness in the multi-species analysis had no effect on the HVT vs. P50 relationship. Also, because burrowing owls in this study did not show a hypometabolic response at any level of hypoxia (even at 9% O2); HVT described in terms of percent change in oxygen convection requirement is identical to that based on ventilation alone.

Palatability of 20 meadow plant species was assessed in the slug grazing experiment conducted. Monocots exhibited significantly lower palatability than dicots. Litter decomposition rate was assessed in the field litter-bag test. Linear regression analysis was performed to answer the main question whether species palatability is related to litter decomposition rate and whether it is determined by the carbon or nitrogen content. Phylogenetically independent contrasts were used to eliminate correlated phylogeny effect. Regression trees were used to detect the effect of species traits on species palatability and litter decomposition rate.

Fish encounter daily cycles of hypoxia in the wild, but the physiological strategies for coping with repeated cycles of normoxia and hypoxia (intermittent hypoxia) are poorly understood. Contrastingly, the physiological strategies for coping with continuous (constant) exposure to hypoxia have been studied extensively in fish. The main objective of this thesis was to understand how Fundulus killifish cope with a diurnal cycle of intermittent hypoxia, an ecologically relevant pattern of aquatic hypoxia in the natural environment. To do this, I characterized the effects of intermittent hypoxia on hypoxia tolerance, oxygen transport, metabolism, and the oxidative stress defense system of killifish, and compared these effects to fish exposed to normoxia, a single cycle of hypoxia-normoxia, and constant hypoxia. Specifically, I studied the following topics: (i) how acclimation to intermittent hypoxia modifies hypoxia tolerance, and the hypoxia acclimation response of Fundulus heteroclitus (Chapter 2), (ii) metabolic adjustments occurring during a hypoxia-reoxygenation cycle (Chapter 3), (iii) how acclimation to intermittent hypoxia alters O2 transport capacity and maximal aerobic metabolic rate (Chapter 4), (iv) the effects of hypoxia and reoxygenation on reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress (Chapter 5), and (v) variation in hypoxia tolerance and in the hypoxia acclimation responses across Fundulus fishes (Chapter 6). Killifish rely on a unique and effective physiological strategy to cope with intermittent hypoxia, and that this strategy is distinct from both the response to a single bout of acute hypoxia-reoxygenation (12 h hypoxia followed by 6 h reoxygenation) and to chronic exposure to constant hypoxia (24 h hypoxia per day for 28 d). Key features of the acclimation response to intermittent hypoxia include (i) maintenance of resting O2 consumption rate in hypoxia followed by a substantial increase in O2 consumption rate during recovery in normoxia, (ii) reversible increases in blood O2 carrying capacity during hypoxia bouts, (iii) minimal recruitment of anaerobic metabolism during hypoxia bouts, and (iv) protection of tissues from oxidative damage despite alterations in the homeostasis of reactive oxygen species and cellular redox status. Of these features, (i) is unique to intermittent hypoxia, (ii) also occurs in fish exposed to acute hypoxia-reoxygenation, and (iii) and (iv) are observed in both fish acclimated to intermittent hypoxia as well as those acclimated to constant hypoxia. This is the most extensive investigation to date on how fish cope with the energetic and oxidative stress challenges of intermittent hypoxia, and how these responses differ from constant hypoxia. This thesis adds substantial insight into the general mechanisms by which animals can respond to an ecologically important but poorly understood feature of the aquatic environment. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Oxygen levels in the aquatic environment are dynamic. Many fishes routinely encounter changes in oxygen content in their environment. However, we have very little understanding of how cycles between periods of low oxygen (hypoxia) and periods of high oxygen (normoxia) affect the physiology of fish. This thesis investigated how Fundulus killifish cope with daily cycles between hypoxia and normoxia (intermittent hypoxia) by modifying oxygen transport, metabolism, and oxidative stress defense systems. I found that killifish rely on a unique and effective physiological strategy to cope with intermittent hypoxia, and that this strategy is distinct from how they respond to a single bout of hypoxia (followed by normoxia) and to a constant pattern of only hypoxia. This is the most extensive investigation to date on how fish respond to the challenges of intermittent hypoxia, an understudied but ecologically important type of aquatic hypoxia.