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Latin American Music

Introduction

Physiology tells us how the bodies of living organisms work. Physiology is based on thec

gross and microstructure. The organ systems in the body function in a particular manner

constantly. The mechanisms, by which the organ systems of the body function, are often

referred to as “physiological mechanisms.” For example, “behavior” of an animal including

human beings is one of the functional outcomes of the brain. Physiological Mechanism is the

mechanism by which the organ systems of the body function. Physiological mechanisms

comprise the smaller physical and chemical events that make up a larger physiological

process. Yellowfin tuna are torpedo-shaped. They are metallic dark blue on the back and

upper sides and change from yellow to silver on the belly. True to their name, their dorsal and

anal fins and finlets are bright yellow. Physiological indicators are measurable biological

functions that provide insight into the health and well-being of an individual. The life of a

tuna centers on continuous swimming. Their ram-ventilation respiratory mode requires tunas

to swim to force water over the gills. Furthermore, because tunas are negatively buoyant,

swimming is needed to generate lift for hydrostatic equilibrium. Feeding also depends upon

swimming because food resources are patchily distributed in both space and time in the open

ocean where they live. Tunas necessarily swim long distances, including repeated dives in

search of prey with some species making extensive migrations These indicators may include

things like heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, temperature, and glucose levels, among

others.

Cardiovascular dynamics of tuna have been investigated by recording blood pressures and

flows in the central circulation of both anaesthetised and swimming individuals.

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Thermoregulation in Yellowfin Tuna

All about the yellowfin tuna. The tuna and other members of the family Scombridae are some

of the only bony fishes to physiologically alter their body temperature above their

environmental water temperature. Although it's not technically considered warm-blooded, it

comes close. Based on λ differences, yellowfin tuna are also capable of conserving heat in

descending phases and absorbing heat in ascending phases to some degree. Because tunas

possess countercurrent vascular pathways serving the trunk musculature, metabolic heat is

retained, and muscle temperatures can considerably exceed that of the surrounding water (+1°

to +21°C). And because tunas have this excess, it is reasonable to suppose they have some

means of controlling its magnitude. Scientists have long suspected that bigeye tuna are able

to regulate their body temperature because they routinely swim actively for long periods in

the cold depths of the sea, then swim quickly through the warmer surface layer without any

sign of stress from heat or cold.Tunas must contend with two exigencies which can perturb

body temperature: changes in water temperature and, in contrast to non-thermoconserving

fish, changes in activity. Both can be met by adaptive change in excess muscle temperature.

If this could be accomplished in the absence of changes in environmental temperature or

activity level, this would constitute physiological thermoregulation. If excess muscle

temperature cannot be altered sufficiently to acceptable levels, more favorable environmental

temperatures must be sought or activity levels changed. We would consider this behavioral

thermoregulation. The tuna and other members of the family Scombridae are some of the

only bony fishes to physiologically alter their body temperature above their environmental

water temperature. Although it’s not technically considered warm-blooded, it comes close.

Other fishes that maintain a higher body temperature are five species of cartilaginous fishes

including the white shark, the shortfin and longfin mako sharks, the porbeagle shark and the

salmon shark.
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Staying warm is hard work

A tuna maintains its high body temperature with help from its circulatory system. Heat

derived from digestion and increased muscle activity is stored in the blood, keeping the fish

warmer than the surrounding water temperature. When blood passes through the gills, it is at

its coolest: the water that comes into contact with the gills will temporarily cool the blood

before being reheated as it flows through the body. The tuna’s warmer temperature requires it

to eat more. Body processes such as muscle efficiency increase at the warmer internal

temperature, thereby requiring more energy. Because of this high energy use, a tuna is known

to have a higher metabolic rate. This also means that when the tuna eats, its body can quickly

extract energy from the food. High sustained swim speeds, characteristic of the continuously

swimming tunas, require special consideration. Heat production is proportional to

approximately the cube of swim speed. In order to maintain a slight temperature excess at

basal swim speeds (1-2 lengths/sec), and yet not overheat during sustained high speed

swimming (>4 lengths/sec), mechanisms are required to conserve heat under the former

conditions and to dissipate it effectively under the latter. In this report, we review published

observations other investigators have interpreted as physiological thermoregulation in tunas,

describe recent findings in our laboratory, and suggest some possible thermoregulatory

mechanisms.

respiratory rate in Yellowfin Tuna

Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) exhibit specific biological adaptations that enable them

to thrive in diverse marine environments. These adaptations include anatomical and

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physiological traits allowing survival in oligotrophic waters [1], thermoregulation

mechanisms through behavioural and physiological responses to maintain stable body

temperatures during dives [2], and the ability to adapt to extreme conditions via miRNA-

mediated responses [3]. Additionally, yellowfin tuna showcase opportunistic feeding

behavior for fast growth and high reproductive outputs [4]. The study of ovothiol biosynthetic

enzymes in marine bacteria highlights their adaptation to specific environments, such as

pelagic and highly oxygenated habitats, through molecular diversification [5]. oth physical

and physiological modifications to the oxygen transport system promote high metabolic

performance of tuna. The large surface area of the gills and thin blood-water barrier means

that O2 utilization is high (30–50%) even when ram ventilation approaches 101 min−1kg−1.

The heart is extremely large and generates peak blood pressures in the range of 70–100

mmHg at frequencies of 1–5 Hz. The blood O2 capacity approaches 16 ml dl−1 and a large

Bohr coefficient (−0.83 to −1.17) ensures adequate loading and unloading of O2 from the

well buffered blood (20.9 slykes). Tuna muscles have aerobic oxidation rates that are 3–5

times higher than in other teleosts and extremely high glycolytic capacity (150 μmol g−1

lactate generated) due to enhanced concentration of glycolytic enzymes. Gill resistance in

tuna is high and may be more than 50% of total peripheral resistance so that dorsal aortic

pressure is similar to that in other active fishes such as salmon or trout. An O2

delivery/demand model predicts the maximum sustained swimming speed of small yellowfin

and skipjack tuna is 5.6 BL s−1 and 3.5 BL sec−1, respectively. The surplus O2 delivery

capacity at lower swimming speeds allows tuna to repay large oxygen debts while swimming

at 2–2.5 BL s−1. Maximum oxygen consumption (7–9 × above the standard metabolic rate)

at maximum exercise is provided by approximately 2 × increases in each of heart rate, stroke

volume, and arterial-venous O2 content difference.These combined adaptations contribute to

the success of yellowfin tuna as apex marine predators in tropical and sub-tropical pelagic
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waters.The yellowfin, like all tuna, never stops swimming. As it moves, water passes over its

gills, allowing it to exchange gases with the surrounding water. This continuous swimming

supplies the fish with oxygen it needs to fuel its metabolic rate. These fish swim through the

water with their mouth open, using their forward motion to drive water over the gills. Tunas

are obligate ram ventilators, meaning they have lost the ability to simply pump sufficient

water over their gills to meet oxygen demand. Because tunas possess countercurrent vascular

pathways serving the trunk musculature, metabolic heat is retained, and muscle temperatures

can considerably exceed that of the surrounding water (+1° to +21°C). And

because tunas have this excess, it is reasonable to suppose they have some means of

controlling its magnitude. Tunas must contend with two exigencies which can perturb body

temperature: changes in water temperature and, in contrast to non-thermoconserving fish,

changes in activity. Both can be met by adaptive change in excess muscle temperature. If this

could be accomplished in the absence of changes in environmental temperature or activity

level, this would constitute physiological thermoregulation. If excess muscle temperature

cannot be altered sufficiently to acceptable levels, more favorable environmental

temperatures must be sought or activity levels changed. We would consider this behavioral

thermoregulation. High sustained swim speeds, characteristic of the continuously swimming

tunas, require special consideration. Heat production is proportional to approximately the

cube of swim speed. In order to maintain a slight temperature excess at basal swim speeds

(1–2 lengths/sec), and yet not overheat during sustained high speed swimming (>4

lengths/sec), mechanisms are required to conserve heat under the former conditions and

to dissipate it effectively under the latter. In this report, we review published observations

other investigators have interpreted as physiological thermoregulation in tunas, describe

recent findings in our laboratory, and suggest some possible thermoregulatory mechanisms.

blood pressure Physiological rate in Yellowfin Tuna

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An in situ heart preparation perfused with oxygenated saline was used to examine cardiac

performance at 25 °C in yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus

pelamis). Heart rates (91–172 bpm in skipjack tuna and 101–157 bpm in yellowfin tuna)

were comparable to those measured in vivo, and physiological stroke volumes were possible

in yellowfin tuna with subambient filling pressures. In yellowfin tuna, maximum stroke

volume and cardiac output were similar to the values obtained in vivo with spinally blocked

animals; mean output pressures (up to 145 cmH2O, 1 cmH2O = 0.098 kPa) could exceed

in vivo values without a major decrease in the resting cardiac output (homeometric

regulation). In contrast, saline-perfused skipjack tuna hearts could not develop physiological

output pressures without compromising cardiac output, with cardiac output being only 63%

of the in vivo value at an output pressure near the in vivo ventral aortic pressure. The poor

performance of the skipjack tuna heart is attributed to limited oxygen diffusion through the

thicker walled ventricle. We conclude that the tuna heart is more dependent on its coronary

circulation for normal function than the hearts of other fishes examined thus far. The

coronary circulation was perfused with saline at various flow rates in isolated hearts from

skipjack tuna to develop a pressure–flow relationship for the intact circulation. Coronary

resistance reached a minimum of 24 cmH2O∙min∙g ventricular mass/mL at a flow rate of 2

mL/(min∙g ventricular mass) with perfusion pressure about 40 cmH2O. In vivo coronary

blood flow was estimated from the pressure–flow relationship as 0.67 mL/(min∙g ventricular

mass). Injections of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and phenylephrine into coronary circulation

under constant flow conditions increased perfusion pressure, indicating the possibility of α-

adrenergic vasoconstriction. Bony fishes have an elastic chamber between the heart and aorta,

the bulbus arteriosus, which has unique mechanical properties. On inflation, the isolated

bulbus is initially very stiff but soon becomes extremely compliant yielding a steady (plateau)

pressure upon further inflation, which appears to be similar in any given species. Here we
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show that the plateau pressure correlates with mean blood pressure determined in vivo.

Consequently, inflation of the bulbus can be used to determine blood pressure in the living

animal from recordings made after it is dead.

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References

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