Meeting Abstract
Control of the ventilatory and cardiovascular systems is a vital physiological process in vertebrates. Several studies have shown that most fishes are able to detect gas concentrations in both the environment and the blood, and that they respond with changes in ventilatory rate, heart rate, blood flow distribution, and swimming patterns. However, relatively little is known about the respiratory physiology and control of respiration in larval fishes. We examined this question by recording the behavioral responses of zebrafish larvae to a range of respiratory cues, including low environmental oxygen and high environmental carbon dioxide. The behavioral responses were recorded by imaging the animal from two orthogonal perspectives, and performing automated reconstruction of the trajectory and midline kinematics of the animal. Numerous metrics were calculated from this dataset, including percent time swimming, swimming speed, position in the water column, and tail beat frequency. Our results suggest that different respiratory cues in the environment have characteristic effects on the behavior of the larvae.
