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Trade-offs in the Evolution of the Respiratory Apparatus of Chordates

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Book cover Cardio-Respiratory Control in Vertebrates

Abstract

In the evolution of the respiratory apparatus repeated trade-offs between it and other organ systems are evident. Gills of non-vertebrate chordates have both a respiratory and alimentary function, whereby in amphioxus the gills filter incoming water, extract and transport suspended particles, and ventilate the atrial epithelium, which is the main respiratory surface. In craniates a muscular pump replaces the ciliary ventilator. The branchial pump of gnathostomes encloses the heart, resulting in the biomechanical expedience of coupling branchial and cardiac beat frequency. For aquatic vertebrates an air-filled air breathing organ means a trade-off between buoyancy and respiratory functions. In terrestrial tetrapods, multi-functionality of lungs and of respiratory musculature results in complex trade-offs and synergic combinations. The shift to aspiration breathing has resulted in a mechanical constraint in some lizards, due to the dual locomotor and ventilatory role of the hypaxial musculature. The most highly derived amniotes, mammals and birds, however, evolved along different pathways to high-performance aerobes. Whereas the kinetic bronchoalveolar mammalian lung results in a trade-off between large surface area and work of inflation, the avian system combines a large surface area and thin air–blood barrier of the constant volume lung with ease of inflation of the air sacs, resulting in energy-efficient gas exchange.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Zoologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Poppelsdorfer Schloss, 53121, Bonn, Germany

    S. F. Perry

  2. Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil

    W. Klein

  3. Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    J. R. Codd

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  1. S. F. Perry
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  2. W. Klein
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  3. J. R. Codd
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Correspondence to S. F. Perry .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirao Preto, 14040-901, Brazil

    Mogens L. Glass

  2. School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, U.S.A.

    Stephen C. Wood

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Perry, S.F., Klein, W., Codd, J.R. (2009). Trade-offs in the Evolution of the Respiratory Apparatus of Chordates. In: Glass, M., Wood, S. (eds) Cardio-Respiratory Control in Vertebrates. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-93985-6_9

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