A new book focused on the principles and applications of the Gill-Oxygen Limitation Theory (GOLT) is scheduled for publication in March 2026.
Co-authored by the Sea Around Us PI, Dr. Daniel Pauly, and Dr. Johannes Müller, assistant professor at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society, Breathing Water in a Warming World presents a theoretical framework for explaining how warming waters and deoxygenation affect the growth and reproduction of fish and other water-breathing animals.
The Gill-Oxygen Limitation Theory’s basic tenet is that water-breathing animals deal with the limited availability of oxygen in water through several adaptations. Chief among these adaptations are halting growth, timing maturation, and migrating based on how much oxygen their three-dimensional bodies are able to get through their two-dimensional gills.
In the book, thus, the GOLT is introduced as the overarching principle that explains such physiological mechanisms and constraints, which most water-breathing animals share and which shape their common life-history traits.
In a warming world where waterbodies become increasingly deoxygenated and where we are seeing changes in animal population dynamics and species distribution, it is crucial to understand the general mechanisms that drive these trends. This is where the GOLT comes in. As a unifying framework, it provides a foundation for more effective responses to the current crisis in our planet’s oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Breathing Water in a Warming World will be published on March 25, 2026, but it is already available for pre-order. More info on the Sidestone Press website.