Measurements of the effect of temperature and feeding on the blood flow through major arteries of the Antarctic fish Pagothenia borchgrevinki

The Antarctic fish Pagothenia borchgrevinki has been shown to be able to survive at raised temperatures. An increase in temperature causes an increase in metabolic rate which requires an increased supply of oxygen. The effect of increased temperatures on blood flow through the dorsal aorta and its major branch, the gastric artery was investigated by inserting flow probes around the aorta and gastric artery and measuring blood flow for resting fish and then slowly increasing the temperature to +4°C. The dorsal aorta was also cannulated to measure heart rate and blood pressure. Fish were allowed to recover and then fed and the parameters were measured over the next two days.