Effects of body temperature on ventilation, blood gases and acid-base balance in exercising fowl.

In order to determine the influence of hyperthermia on respiratory, blood gas and acid-base changes in exercising birds, we exercised domestic fowl on a treadmill at ambient temperatures of 5, 20, 30 and 35 degrees C for 10 min at graded running speeds up to 4.3 km.h-1. Ventilation and gas exchange were measured continuously and arterial blood gases, pH and the concentration of lactic acid in arterial blood were measured in samples taken during the last minute of each run. During exercise at 5 degrees C rectal temperature did not change significantly from rest (isothermic condition) and there was no sign of thermal influence on respiratory pattern, such as was observed at higher ambient temperatures. At any given running speed, increased ambient temperature caused increased ventilation by an increase in respiratory frequency (f) together with a decrease in tidal volume (VT). Under isothermic conditions, at low running speeds, birds maintained an isocapnic hyperpnoea: arterial PCO2, PO2 and pH and oxygen extraction were unchanged. However at higher speeds (ca. greater than 2.5 km.h-1) some hyperventilation occurred with subsequent falls in arterial PCO2 and oxygen extraction. Arterial pH also fell significantly (P less than 0.01). During hyperthermic exercise, oxygen extraction, arterial PCO2 and bicarbonate concentration all fell significantly (P less than 0.01) and progressively with increasing work load, and birds hyperventilated at all running speeds. This produced a significant arterial hypocapnia and alkalosis at the lower speeds (P less than 0.05) but this was replaced by a hypocapnic metabolic acidosis at the higher running speeds. Blood lactate concentration rose steeply at speeds above ca. 2.5 km.h-1 but arterial pH fell by only 0.1 units or less partly as a result of buffering by blood bicarbonate. It is concluded that both hyperthermia and lactacidosis are causes of hyperventilation and arterial hypocapnia during heavy running exercise in birds. However, ventilatory adjustments similar to those observed in resting hyperthermic birds, viz. increased f and reduced VT prevent severe arterial hypocapnia from occurring in hyperthermic exercising birds.