Control of breathing in invertebrates

Respiratory Biology of Animals ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199238460.003.0008 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 100-108

Author(s):

Steven F. Perry ◽

Markus Lambertz ◽

Anke Schmitz

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Group ◽

Control Of Breathing ◽

Aquatic Species ◽

Air Breathing ◽

Terrestrial Invertebrates ◽

Internal Ph

Every animal that has a respiratory faculty has some mechanism for regulating its perfusion and ventilation. A prerequisite for such regulation is some way of sensing internal and external levels of respiratory-relevant gases. The regulatory entities can be peripheral, central, or both. This chapter looks at the control of breathing in aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and concludes that the main signal for aquatic species is oxygen, whereas the internal pH/PCO2 is most important for the control of air breathing, regardless of the phylogenetic group to which the animal may belong.

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Control of breathing in craniotes

Respiratory Biology of Animals ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199238460.003.0013 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 164-169

Author(s):

Steven F. Perry ◽

Markus Lambertz ◽

Anke Schmitz

Keyword(s):

Muscle Contraction ◽

Muscle Activity ◽

Control Of Breathing ◽

The Other ◽

Air Breathing ◽

Ventilatory Frequency ◽

Blood Ph ◽

Other Hand

Craniote gills are arranged sequentially along the pharynx and accordingly are ventilated from anterior to posterior by a wave of muscle contraction, beginning with the mouth. Each gill pair appears to have its own set of neurons in the brainstem that coordinate the muscle activity and stimulate the next gill pair in the sequence. This system appears to have been maintained from hagfish to teleosts. In tetrapods, on the other hand, various centres in the brainstem coordinate different phases of breathing: expiration, inspiration, and post-inspiration. The location of these centres in the brainstem is similar in amphibians and mammals. The stimulus for regulating ventilatory frequency in water-breathing species is oxygen, whereas for air-breathing species it is blood pH/PCO2—just as in invertebrates.

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The evolution of air-breathing respiratory faculties in invertebrates

Respiratory Biology of Animals ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199238460.003.0010 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 113-124

Author(s):

Steven F. Perry ◽

Markus Lambertz ◽

Anke Schmitz

Keyword(s):

Circulatory System ◽

Control Of Breathing ◽

Partial Replacement ◽

Air Breathing ◽

Book Lungs ◽

Similar Tendency ◽

Air Sacs ◽

Interesting Correlation ◽

Respiratory Proteins

This chapter aims at piecing together the evolution of air breathing in invertebrates, the main conclusion here being that it evolved independently several times. In molluscs alone, air breathing has evolved several times, but almost exclusively among snails. Among crustaceans, several groups of crabs have also independently developed terrestrial representatives and transitional stages, particularly in the control of breathing, are evident. Analysis of insects shows few recognizable evolutionary progressions: air sacs and different stigmatal closure mechanisms have appeared and disappeared numerous times, even within closely related groups. But other tracheate groups such as myriapods show an interesting correlation between the presence of tracheal lungs, which end in an open circulatory system, and tracheae that invade the tissue as in insects, and the presence or reduction of respiratory proteins. In arachnids a similar tendency is seen, and the most interesting developments were the (partial) replacement of a ‘perfectly good’ air-breathing organ (book lungs) by another one (tracheae).

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Respiratory faculties of amphibious and terrestrial invertebrates

Respiratory Biology of Animals ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199238460.003.0007 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 84-99

Author(s):

Steven F. Perry ◽

Markus Lambertz ◽

Anke Schmitz

Keyword(s):

Unit Volume ◽

Study Group ◽

Dry Land ◽

Solubility In Water ◽

Air Breathing ◽

Terrestrial Invertebrates ◽

Interesting Study ◽

Invertebrate Animals ◽

Metabolic Advantage ◽

Low Solubility

This chapter focuses on the respiratory faculties of invertebrate air breathers. Although the partial pressure of oxygen in water is the same as in the surrounding atmosphere, the oxygen content per unit volume is around 30 times less due to its relatively low solubility in water. So it is no wonder that there is evidence for invertebrate animals on land as early as from the Palaeozoic. In spite of this apparent metabolic advantage, aside from some annelid groups, the only invertebrates to truly call dry land their home are some snails and arthropods. Among the latter, we see several independent origins of air breathing, and crustaceans present a particularly interesting study group in this regard. Arachnids and insects, on the other hand, were from the beginning terrestrial and air breathing, and insect tracheae form the most effective respiratory system going.

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