HI observations of emission-line galaxies

We present single-dish Lovell telescope H I observations of a sample of 67 emission-line and UV-excess galaxies, of which 52 are taken from the University of Michigan (UM) catalogue. In addition, H I observations of 24 gas-rich irregular galaxies are presented. We find that emission-line galaxies are HI-rich with a median HI mass to blue luminosity ratio M-HI/L-B of similar to 0.45 M-./L-.. Within the UM galaxy sample the M-HI/L-B ratio tends to increase with decreasing luminosity. Finally, it is found that the most H I-rich UM galaxies are the most metal deficient, implying that these objects are less evolved.