My Intertidal Hero, Hemiscyllium ocellatum - The Epaullet Shark.
This extraordinary creature, unlike any other inhabits the shallow tidal reefs or North-Western Australia and New Guinea. {1} It is in my eyes a creature like no other, able to withstand cyclic periods of extreme hypoxia{2} and has developed the ability to walk on land from one tide pool to the next.{3} I believe that this particular Teleost shows adaptive evolution right before our eyes.
The oceans tide rises and falls twice daily, therefore the organisms living in this dynamic sea shore or reef environment must adapt to cope with the cyclic stresses in order to survive.{4} Adaptations are commonly seen in simpler organisms such as mussels and limpets, however these adaptations in a shark present us with a marvellous evolutionary …show more content…
Hypoxia is a period in which a particular body of water has a low available oxygen content.{2} It is know that some species of Teleost fishes and turtles can undergo long periods of hypoxia in inland fresh cold waters, such as thirty minutes in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss all the way up to five and a half months in Crusian Carp Carassius carassius. However it is largely believed that hypoxia tolerance decrease as temperature increases. {2.B} The ability to withstand hypoxia is seen as successful when the organism can withstand acute oxygen depletion without sustaining notable neuronal injury. An increased capacity for anaerobic respiration is seen as the defining factor between tolerant and nontolerant species. H.ocellatum is at this point the most successful tropical species in relation to its levels of hypoxia tolerance and it is hoped that the examination of this tropical hypoxic tolerance may help to uncover the biologic mechanisms underlying hypoxia tolerance as a whole. {2B} H.ocellatum under blood-lactate concentration analysis has been seen to have a baseline
This extraordinary creature, unlike any other inhabits the shallow tidal reefs or North-Western Australia and New Guinea. {1} It is in my eyes a creature like no other, able to withstand cyclic periods of extreme hypoxia{2} and has developed the ability to walk on land from one tide pool to the next.{3} I believe that this particular Teleost shows adaptive evolution right before our eyes.
The oceans tide rises and falls twice daily, therefore the organisms living in this dynamic sea shore or reef environment must adapt to cope with the cyclic stresses in order to survive.{4} Adaptations are commonly seen in simpler organisms such as mussels and limpets, however these adaptations in a shark present us with a marvellous evolutionary …show more content…
Hypoxia is a period in which a particular body of water has a low available oxygen content.{2} It is know that some species of Teleost fishes and turtles can undergo long periods of hypoxia in inland fresh cold waters, such as thirty minutes in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss all the way up to five and a half months in Crusian Carp Carassius carassius. However it is largely believed that hypoxia tolerance decrease as temperature increases. {2.B} The ability to withstand hypoxia is seen as successful when the organism can withstand acute oxygen depletion without sustaining notable neuronal injury. An increased capacity for anaerobic respiration is seen as the defining factor between tolerant and nontolerant species. H.ocellatum is at this point the most successful tropical species in relation to its levels of hypoxia tolerance and it is hoped that the examination of this tropical hypoxic tolerance may help to uncover the biologic mechanisms underlying hypoxia tolerance as a whole. {2B} H.ocellatum under blood-lactate concentration analysis has been seen to have a baseline