Anoxia tolerance in the sea cucumbers Parastichopus californicus and Cucumaria miniata reflects habitat use

Natural fluctuations in dissolved oxygen are an important physiological challenge faced by marine organisms. This is particularly true of intertidal species that may become trapped in bodies of water where oxygen becomes rapidly depleted, or which may be emersed and exposed to elevated oxygen, but without respiratory organs adapted for uptake of oxygen from air. We sought to determine whether oxygen handling approaches differ in two species of...