Journal of Aquaculture Research & Development

An Editorial on Gill Respiration in Sea Life

Rakshitha Kotha^* Department of Biochemistry, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
^*Correspondence: Rakshitha Kotha, Department of Biochemistry, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, Tel: +32-466-90-05-61, Email:

Received: 07-Nov-2021 Published: 17-Nov-2021

Editorial

Gill respiration
For ventilation, many aquatic species have developed gills that are specifically tailored to their purpose. In fish, they have for example:
• Because more of the gas comes into touch with the membrane, a high surface area allows as much oxygen to enter the gills as feasible.
• A sufficient supply of blood is required to sustain the required concentration gradient.
• The membrane is thin to allow for a quick diffusion channel.
• There are two rows (hemibranchs) of gill filaments in each gill arch.
• Each gill filament has several lamellae.
The gills of osteichthyes have four gill arches on each side of the head, chondrichthyes have two, and Lampreys have seven gill baskets on each side of the head.
Respiratory control
The formation of the respiratory rhythm in fish is controlled by neurons situated in the brainstem. These neurons are slightly different in position from mammalian centres of respiratory genesis, but they are in the same brain compartment, which has led to arguments concerning respiratory centre homology between aquatic and terrestrial species. The specific mechanisms by which neurons generate this involuntary rhythm in both aquatic and terrestrial breathing are yet unknown.
The respiratory rhythm is adjusted to match the body's oxygen requirement. When fish engage in physical activity, they "breathe" faster and heavier than mammals. The mechanisms that cause these alterations have been a source of contention. The views can be divided into two groups: those who believe that the majority of respiratory changes are pre-programmed in the brain, implying that neurons from the brain's locomotion centres connect to respiratory centres in anticipation of movements, and those who believe that the majority of respiratory changes are the result of muscle contraction detection, and that respiration is adapted as a result of muscular contraction and oxygen consumption.
In biology, a gill is a sort of respiratory apparatus present in a variety of aquatic creatures, such as worms, almost all molluscs and crustaceans, some insect larvae, all fishes, and a few amphibians. The gill is made up of branching or feathery tissue that is densely packed with blood vessels, especially at the gill surface, allowing oxygen and carbon dioxide to be exchanged with the surrounding water. The gills may be encased in cavities, through which water is often pumped forcibly, or they may extend into the water from the body. Gills are blood vessel-filled feathery organs. Water is taken into the mouth of a fish and forced out through the gill canals. Dissolved oxygen enters the bloodstream and gets to the fish's cells as water passes over the thin walls of the gills. Dolphins and whales are comparable to humans in many aspects, including the fact that they give birth to live infants rather than eggs, that they are warm- blooded, and that they have lungs to breathe air. When a whale or dolphin surfaces, it breathes via the top of its head's snout (often referred to as a "blowhole").
Water-dwelling organisms require a means of obtaining oxygen as well. Water dissolves oxygen, although at a lesser quantity than the atmosphere, which contains around 21% oxygen. Gills have evolved in fish and many other aquatic species to help them absorb dissolved oxygen from the water. Gills are thin tissue filaments that are extremely branched and folded. The dissolved oxygen in the water rapidly diffuses through the gills and into the bloodstream when water passes over them. The oxygenated blood can then be carried to other parts of the body by the circulatory system. When organisms have coelomic fluid rather than just blood, gas exchange occurs into the coelomic fluid via the gill membranes.