Programme

Preliminary description:
The flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the external environment and the metabolizing cells is essential for upholding normal functioning of all animals. These flows can be studied from both macroscopic (e.g. transport in the blood via the circulatory system) and microscopic (e.g. diffusion of gas molecules into cells and mitochondria) perspectives, but with the central requirement that supply has to be matched to demand to maintain homeostasis. Most animals must deal with conditions that challenge the flow of respiratory gases or with changes in the abundance of the respiratory gases themselves. In this symposium, we will explore some of these challenges and the physiological mechanisms adopted by animals to deal with them, from antioxidants of the hyperoxic fish retina to cardiovascular responses of a digesting python. Through presentations of recent and ongoing research, the speakers will also highlight how state-of-the-art technologies are being used by comparative physiologists today, for example spatial transcriptomics, high-resolution respirometry and mass-spectrophotometry.