Fish Use Tastebuds to Measure Oxygen

Photo: Danio_reiro/Flickr

A new study from the University of Ottawa shows that some fish can use their tastebuds to measure oxygen levels in the water. Zebrafish were the species chosen for the study, and as Bernard Rizk writes, the fish literally “can taste oxygen levels in the water using the same cells they use to taste their food. Those same cells also function as oxygen sensors, playing a crucial role in regulating the fish’s breathing response to low oxygen conditions.”

Rixk goes on to describe how this function was previously unknown to science, and challenges our understanding of sensory systems in aquatic animals. While zebrafish aren’t something we chase with fly rods, it’s nonetheless interesting to learn more about fish in general, and wonder at what secrets of trout, bass, carp, pike, and muskie we haven’t yet unlocked.

Rizk further writes that “This discovery has far-reaching implications for understanding how fish adapt to changing environmental conditions. It suggests that the ability to “taste” oxygen levels in the water may be a crucial survival mechanism for aquatic organisms, allowing them to detect and respond to potentially dangerous low-oxygen situations quickly.”

This might gives us more tools as we look to help fish imperiled in warm waters, especially here in the West. Again, while we don’t chase zebrafish with a fly rod, any new discovery about fish could lead to something that helps us conserve and protect our favorite critters that live in swim in some of the prettiest places on the planet.