Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

This application proposes to purchase a swimming respirometer and associated equipment. The respirometer will permit researchers to measure oxygen consumption in swimming fish, their maximum sustained swimming speed and aerobic capacity. The instrumentation will be incorporated into research projects that assess the effects of contaminants on freshwater fish. This research is directed at an integrated approach, characterizing effects and impacts across multiple levels of biological organization from molecular and cellular to tissue function and then the whole organism itself. This approach is designed to understand how the physiological disruptions caused by contaminants impaired performance. The swimming respirometer is an essential component of this research as it will enable quantitative measurements of fish endurance and energetics. It is anticipated that the results of this research will result in novel approaches to understanding the impacts of waterborne contaminants and will contribute sound science to environmental protection measures. The respirometry system will also provide synergies with studies that other fish physiology researchers are conducting at Laurier. It will provide them with a new tool that can be applied in their assessment of fish performance. The swimming respirometry system will also be an important facility in the training of highly qualified personnel, particularly from the perspective of metabolic effects at the whole organism level. In this respect it will be a key component within the integrated systems biology approach (molecular to whole organism) that is emphasized at Wilfrid Laurier University.