QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by MUIR, B. S. Articles by HUGHES, G. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by MUIR, B. S. Articles by HUGHES, G. M. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Journal of Experimental Biology 51,271-285 (1969)
Published by Company of Biologists 1969

Gill Dimensions for Three Species of Tunny

B. S. MUIR ¹ and G. M. HUGHES ²

¹ Hydronautic Incorporated, Maryland, U.S.A., Marine Ecology Laboratory, Bedford Institute, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
² Hydronautic Incorporated, Maryland, U.S.A., Department of Zoology, Bristol University, Bristol B58 1UG

1. Estimates have been made of the total area of the secondary lamellae in the gills of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), and bluefin tuna (T. thynnus). A sampling method is described which takes into account the variation in size and spacing of the secondary lamellae in different portions of the sieve.

2. Twenty-six specimens in the weight range 1-40 kg. were examined and analysed by logarithmic plots of different gill dimensions against body weight. A good fit was found to the general equation A=aW^b.

3. The slope (b) of the regression line for the total area (A) against body weight (W) was found to be about 0.85 for all three species. This relationship is similar to that (0.81) between oxygen consumption and body weight for a large number of species of teleost fish.

4. The corresponding regression coefficients for the relationships between body size and average area of a secondary lamella, number of secondary lamellae per millimetre and total filament length were +0.53, -0.08 and +0.38 respectively.

5. A comparison is made between the three species of tunny and the limited data available for size ranges of other teleosts. On the basis of values obtained by extra polating the regression lines, it is concluded that the tunny has a larger gill area per unit of body weight than any other fish so far investigated. This is mainly due to the large total length of the gill filaments and the very close spacing (up to 120 per mm. have been measured) of relatively small secondary lamellae.

6. It is concluded that the extensive gill area of the tunny is related to its very active mode of life.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. P. Griffiths, G. C. Fry, F. J. Manson, and D. C. Lou Age and growth of longtail tuna (Thunnus tonggol) in tropical and temperate waters of the central Indo-Pacific ICES J. Mar. Sci., August 30, 2009; (2009) fsp223v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Blank, J. M. Morrissette, A. M. Landeira-Fernandez, S. B. Blackwell, T. D. Williams, and B. A. Block In situ cardiac performance of Pacific bluefin tuna hearts in response to acute temperature change J. Exp. Biol., February 15, 2004; 207(5): 881 - 890. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C Sepulveda and K. Dickson Maximum sustainable speeds and cost of swimming in juvenile kawakawa tuna (Euthynnus affinis) and chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) J. Exp. Biol., January 10, 2000; 203(20): 3089 - 3101. [Abstract]