Open— and closed—system experimental designs were used to test comparative tolerance, survival, and potential natural selection in four species subjected to low dissolved oxygen concentration–the desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius), long—fin dace (Agosia chrysogaster), speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus), and Gila sucker (Catostomus clarki). Different rankings of the species resulted for tolerance (closed—air system) and survival (open air system). Open—system experiments were designed that demonstrate mechanisms by which this environmental stressor produces catastrophic selection in nature. During interspecific competition, adaptive behavior and structure as well as physiological tolerance were decisive in survival.
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