Der Sauerstoffverbrauch von Anguilla vulgaris in seiner Abhängigkeit von Temperaturdifferenzen zwischen Kopfbereich und Rumpf

This paper is the result of an investigation into the regulation of oxygen intake in silver eels, Anguilla vulgaris L. Measurements of oxygen intake in intact and operated animals were taken both for gills and body skin. The temperatures of head and body could be varied independently from each other, so that the eels could be exposed to identical or differing head and body temperatures; the spinal cord of operated eels was either cut through just below the head or destroyed in the body region. In comparison with intact eels, oxygen intake of operated individuals shown no significant change due to the destruction of the central nervous system. In general, oxygen intake of the gills shifts noticeably after temperature changes of as little as 4°C, administered at the head region or the body; this shift appears first in the body skin after an 8°C-change in the body. Changes in head temperature produce no significant change in oxygen intake of the body skin. According to temperature measurements conducted by thermo-couples, a temperature change in the body is not transferred to the brain. It is assumed that eels are able to “measure” the oxygen tension of their venous blood on its way from the heart to the gills, and to use this information for regulating their oxygen intake.