Low salt and high PH in the blood of amazon fishes

✍ Scribed by Mangum, C. P. ;Haswell, M. S. ;Johansen, K.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1977
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 297 KB
• Volume: 200
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402000120

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

All but one of 15 species of fishes and two crustaceans from the Amazon River system have reduced levels of inorganic ion activity in the blood, which results from the purity of Amazon waters. In many of the teleosts, low ion activity is accompained by high blood pH, due to the presence of high levels of HCO and ammonia. The activities of H^+^ and Cl^−^ have the important respiratory consequence of raising the oxygen affinity of the hemoglobins in water‐breathing species in this chronically hypoxic environment.