The abundance, distribution and oxidative capacities of mitochondria have been investigated in the red pectoral fin adductor muscles of fish (Order Perciformes) that use a predominantly labriform style of swimming. Mediterranean Sea species from the families Labridae, Serranidae, Sparidae and Antarctic Nototheniidae and non-Antarctic Nototheniidae and Channichthyidae were studied. Sub-Antarctic...

It is known from the extensive measurements of Gray (1954) that the gills of marine fishes of the Atlantic Coast of North America show a wide variation in the extent of their gill area. This is true whether the area is based on the unit of body surface area or on a unit of body weight. Little data are available, however, for fishes from European waters (Byczkowska-Smyk,* 1957, 1958, 1959)The pr...

A cause and effect understanding of thermal limitation and adaptation at various levels of biological organization is crucial in the elaboration of how the Antarctic climate has shaped the functional properties of extant Antarctic fauna. At the same time, this understanding requires an integrative view of how the various levels of biological organization may be intertwined. At all levels analys...

We investigated the molecular mechanisms regulating differences in mitochondrial volume density between heart ventricles of Antarctic notothenioids that vary in the expression of hemoglobin (Hb) and myoglobin (Mb). In mammals, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) and nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis and maintain ...

The teleost spleen is a discrete organ containing, in addition to erythrocytes sequestered from the circulation, erythropoietic tissue involved in the synthesis of new erythrocytes. In this division into supply and synthesis, there appear to be some species differences. The eel spleen is an erythrocyte reservoir but is not thought to be a major erythropoietic organ (Johansson-Sjobeck, 1979). Th...

The anisakid nematodes morphologically corresponding with Pseudoterranova decipiens sensu lato (s.l.) (Krabbe, 1878) from different seal or sea lion hosts and geographical origins, previously identified as Pseudoterranova krabbei, P. decipiens (s.s.), P. bulbosa, P. azarasi and P. cattani by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, were characterized using a DNA approach. Also a population of P. deci...

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity was measured in blood, intestine, kidney and gill of two Antarctic teleosts, the haemoglobinless Chionodraco hamatus and the red-blooded Trematomus bernacchii, and of the temperate teleost Anguilla anguilla. In all species, the highest CA activity was in the gills, with the greatest activity in C. hamatus. CA activity in the blood was highest in A. anguilla, but...

Parasite communities of Chionodraco hamatus were investigated from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica) during host spawning time. Special attention was given to helminth infracommunities and effect of host sex on its structure. A total of 21 taxa including 5 ecto-parasites and 16 endo-parasites were identified. The number of ecto and endo-parasite species per individual host ranged from 1 to ...