ABSTRACT
Hypoxia has a profound effect on fish behaviour, cardiovascular physiology, most ionic and substrate membrane transport systems, intracellular signalling systems, and gene expression in fish. Extant adult fishes show an extremely wide diversity of form and function, and in many instances this diversity is supported by similarly large variations in cardiovascular anatomy and physiology. Zebrafish offer a number of advantages that allow imaging of the cardiovascular system during development. Temperature has a significant effect on not only the physiology, but also the morphological development of the cardiovascular system during development in zebrafish. Hypoxia has a profound affect on the onset of cardiovascular regulation in that it can accelerate the onset of adrenergic and vasoconstrictive responses relative to the developmental program. Larval fish undergo complex and dynamic patterns of change during their development, and the growth and elaboration of the cardiovascular system is crucial to larval ontogeny.
