SREL Reprint #2382

Blood flow distribution and tissue allometry in channel catfish

I. R. Schultz1, M. G. Barron2, M. C. Newman3, and A. M. Vick4

1Battelle PNNL, Molecular Bioscience Division, P.O. Box 999-P7-56, Richland, WA 99352, USA
2Hagler Bailly, Inc., P.O. Box Drawer O, Boulder, CO 80306-1906, USA
3Department of Environmental Sciences, The College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science,
School of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA 23062-1346, USA
4College of Pharmacy Ohio State University, 500 West 12th, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

Abstract: Blood flow (as percentage of cardiac output) in fasted channel catfish acclimated to 21ºC was directed primarily to white muscle (72%) followed by head kidney (5·7%), red muscle (5·5%), trunk kidney (3·1%), liver (2·2%), swim bladder (1·4%) and skin (1·1%). The stomach, intestines, pyloric caeca, gonads, brain, abdominal fat and spleen contained <0·5%) of blood flow. There was considerable interfish variation among blood flow distribution to visceral organs with substantial spatial heterogeneity of blood flow to white muscle. The spatial heterogeneity of flow to muscle prevented accurate estimation of total flow to this tissue based on the microsphere deposition of a few sub-samples. Instead, a novel approach, based on the whole animal counting of the eviscerated carcass was used to measure blood flow to white muscle. The scaling relationships lot tissue mass in catfish (63-1873 g) followed the allometric equation (aWb) and tended to exhibit negative allometry, with organ weight decreasing ill proportion to body weight. The b values for most tissues ranged between 0·83 and 1·0. The relative mass of the brain showed the greatest decline and with a b value of 0·32. The results, together with previous data on cardiac output, permitted calculation of organ blood flow rates in channel catfish.

Keywords: regional blood flow; microspheres; allometry; catfish

SREL Reprint #2382

Schultz, I.R., M.G. Barron, M.C. Newman, and A.M. Vicks. 1999. Blood flow distribution and tissue allometry in channel catfish. Journal of Fish Biology 54:1275-1286.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).