Natures wonders: using antifreeze and boosting O2 (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, March 30, 2020, 21:21 (1489 days ago) @ David Turell

Antarctic fish do this:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antarctic-fish-is-a-blood-doping-champion/?u...

"Like most fish native to Antarctica, the bald notothen’s blood contains antifreeze proteins that help it withstand extreme cold. Yet these proteins, along with red blood cells (RBCs), can make blood viscous and hard to circulate. Some Antarctic fish compensate by eliminating RBCs altogether, absorbing oxygen directly from the water via gills and skin as they passively await prey. Bald notothens, however, actively swim below surface ice to chase krill and other crustaceans while dodging predators such as penguins and seals. For this behavior, “you need to supply [more] oxygen to the muscles,” says Michael Axelsson, a cardiovascular physiologist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and co-author of the new study,...

"The scientists compared RBC levels in blood collected from bald notothens relaxing in glass tanks with those in blood from fish they “chased” using a plastic tube. Levels were at 9 percent in the resting animals but 27 percent in the exercised ones, leading to a 207 percent spike in the latter’s blood oxygen. “No [other] fish we’ve seen can more than double their RBCs or drop their numbers to such a low level when resting,” Axelsson says. This low level reduces strain on the bald notothens’ heart, he adds. Their spleen stores RBCs, and the researchers found that to eject more into the bloodstream, the organ contracts to weigh 41 percent less.

"The enormous changes in RBC levels initially surprised Gerald Kooyman, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who was not involved in the study. He notes, however, that these fish have fewer blood cells to begin with, so tripling the RBC count is less difficult. If a diving Weddell seal pushed its RBC levels from 40 to 90 percent, for instance, its blood would be dangerously hard to pump.

"Yet bald notothens do face trade-offs for their ability. By attaching a probe to each fish’s aorta, the scientists found blood pressure was 12 percent higher and the heart worked 30 percent harder in active ones. The heart can rest during quiet times, but when bald notothens need to exert themselves, Axelsson says, “these fish have to live with the slightly higher consequences of [more] RBCs because they need more oxygen.'”

Comment: this cannot develop by chance under the conditions in which this fish lives. Only design fits.