Data for "Effects of hypoxia on the olfactory sensitivity of gilt-head seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i>)"

Coastal environments around the world are becoming increasingly hypoxic owing to anthropogenic effects. We hypothesized that, because the olfactory epithelium is in contact with the external environment, decreased external oxygen will impair olfaction. We performed electro-olfactograms on juvenile gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata) and measured the response to three amino acids at five different concentrations (1×10−7 to 1×10−3 mol l−1) in normoxic (20 kPa O2) and two hypoxic conditions (12.5 and 5.7 kPa O2). For the first time, we show that both mild and moderate hypoxia decreased the olfactory response to two out of three odorants. As more coastal areas become hypoxic, it is important to understand how hypoxia may impair the sensory systems of fishes, which can have individual- and population-level effects and important implications for our food supply.受人类活动影响，全球近岸海域正逐渐出现低氧（hypoxia）现象。我们提出假说：由于嗅上皮（olfactory epithelium）直接与外界环境接触，外界氧分压降低会损害鱼类的嗅觉功能。本研究以幼年金头鲷（Sparus aurata）为实验对象，开展嗅觉电图（electro-olfactogram）检测，并在常氧（normoxic，20 kPa O₂）以及两种低氧条件（12.5 kPa O₂与5.7 kPa O₂）下，测定其对3种氨基酸在5种不同浓度（1×10⁻⁷至1×10⁻³ mol·l⁻¹）下的嗅觉响应。本研究首次证实：轻度与中度低氧均会降低鱼类对3种气味物质中两种的嗅觉响应。随着全球越来越多近岸海域出现低氧现象，阐明低氧如何损害鱼类的感觉系统具备重要意义——该影响可作用于个体乃至种群层面，同时对人类粮食供应亦具备重要参考价值。