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Files in this Data Supplement:
Odontamblyopus lacepedii is unique among the intertidal mudflat fishes because it does not emerge but stays in the burrows filled with hypoxic water during low tide. Video observations of the field burrows showed that the fish surfaced for air in the burrow opening when burrow-water PO2 dropped to 2.8 kPa in about 1.3 h after emersion of the opening. Of the 4 distinct types of air-breathing behavior determined in the laboratory, only 3 types have been observed in the field. In this video, the type 2 behavior shows the fish submerging quickly after gulping for air. The type 4 behavior is characterized by breath holding at the surface until expiration. The average duration from inspiration to expiration is about 240 s for both types. By using a combination of different air-breathing tactics, the eel gobies can evade avian predators that abound in their natural habitat. We believe that the acquisition of air-breathing capability enables the eel gobies to stay in the hypoxic burrows and extend the resident time in the mudflat, thereby increasing their competitive advantage over other tidally migrating species in tapping rich resources of the intertidal zones.
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