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Dr. Kathryn A. Dickson

Biology / California State University, Fullerton
: DBH 117A / : 714-278-5266 / : kdickson@fulle@example.com @example.com @example.comrton.edu / : Home Page

About me

Tunas, billfishes, the opah, and some sharks (including mako, white, and thresher) are the only fishes known to use metabolically derived heat to maintain tissue temperatures elevated significantly above water temperature (regional endothermy). A major focus of research in the Dickson Lab is to understand regional endothermy in fishes, by addressing questions such as: How and why did regional endothermy evolve by convergence among these different fish groups? How does endothermy develop in tunas? In addition, the Dickson Lab laboratory investigates swimming performance, metabolic biochemistry, and muscle development in fishes. An integrative approach and techniques such as enzyme assays, electron, confocal, fluorescence, and light microscopy, immuno-histochemistry, mitochondrial energetics, swimming-tunnel respirometry, and high-speed videography are used in these studies. The fish species that we study include California halibut, white seabass, California grunion, green jack, chub mackerel, eastern Pacific bonito, several tuna species, opah, sailfish, shortfin mako shark, common thresher shark, blue shark, and leopard shark.

Publications

1. Sepulveda, C.S., K.A. Dickson, D. Bernal, and J.B. Graham. 2008. Elevated red myotomal muscle temperatures in the most basal tuna species, Allothunnus fallai. Journal of Fish Biology 73: 241-249. (article)

2. Sepulveda, C.S., K.A. Dickson, L. Frank, and J.B. Graham. 2007. Cranial endothermy and a putative brain heater in the most basal tuna species, Allothunnus fallai. Journal of Fish Biology 70: 1720-1733. (article)

3. Duong, C., C. Sepulveda, J. Graham, and K. Dickson. 2006. Mitochondrial proton leak rates in the slow, oxidative myotomal muscle and liver of the endothermic shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) and the ectothermic blue shark (Prionace glauca) and leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata). The Journal of experimental biology: 2678-85. (article)

4. Graham, J. and K. Dickson. 2004. Tuna comparative physiology. The Journal of experimental biology: 4015-24. (article)

5. Dickson, K. and J. Graham. 2004. Evolution and consequences of endothermy in fishes. Physiological and biochemical zoology : PBZ: 998-1018. (article)

6. Dowis, H., C. Sepulveda, J. Graham, and K. Dickson. 2003. Swimming performance studies on the eastern Pacific bonito Sarda chiliensis, a close relative of the tunas (family Scombridae) II. Kinematics. The Journal of experimental biology: 2749-58. (article)

7. Odell, J., M. Chappell, and K. Dickson. 2003. Morphological and enzymatic correlates of aerobic and burst performance in different populations of Trinidadian guppies Poecilia reticulata. The Journal of experimental biology: 3707-18. (article)

8. Dickson, K., J. Donley, C. Sepulveda, and L. Bhoopat. 2002. Effects of temperature on sustained swimming performance and swimming kinematics of the chub mackerel Scomber japonicus. The Journal of experimental biology: 969-80. (article)

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