ORCC: Sensory resilience and climate change

气候变化可能对感觉系统产生有害影响，使动物难以感知环境，寻找食物和吸引配偶。 该项目确定了气候变化影响淡水鱼的感官生物学和行为的具体方式，并利用这些知识开发工具，以提高美国西南部沙漠鱼类的生存。该项目首先测量温度、酸度、水流速度和光照变化对斑马鱼感官的影响。斑马鱼作为人类疾病的模型和污染的哨兵已经得到了很好的研究，因此该项目的结果将揭示气候变化对水生动物影响的详细生理机制。 例如，亚利桑那州的沙漠鱼类正受到气候变化和引进非本地鱼类的严重威胁。亚利桑那州游戏和鱼类部门的研究人员一直在探索解决方案，包括在孵化场饲养本地鱼类，以便将来重新引入野外。该项目直接促进了这些努力，使用斑马鱼测试和开发通过操纵压力，生殖状态和经验来增强感官恢复力的方法，并通过比较本地和非本地沙漠小鱼的感官能力。此外，该项目与亚利桑那州游戏和鱼类部门合作，与当地垂钓者，K-12学生和教师分享沙漠本地鱼类的信息。酸化会阻碍水生动物的嗅觉，温度升高会损害触觉敏感性，浑浊的水会妨碍视觉。然而，感觉系统是可塑的，相互交织的，当一个感觉系统变得不可靠或无效时，动物可能会通过更严重地依赖其他感觉来补偿。这种补偿可以通过将感觉系统彼此联系以及与其他有机体功能联系起来的潜在生理机制来增强或限制。该项目测试感觉系统是否以及在多大程度上对与水生栖息地气候变化相关的生态变化具有弹性，利用斑马鱼可用的广泛的基因组工具包，将结果置于丰富而广泛的尖端神经科学和基因组学研究背景下。此外，该项目还测试了是否可以通过操纵激素生理学和最近的感官体验来增强弹性。为了巩固与亚利桑那州游戏和鱼类部门科学家未来合作的基础，该项目还测试了感官差异是否可以解释为什么本地沙漠鱼类在间歇性流动的溪流中比非本地鱼类生存得更好。该项目的领导团队包括一个多元化的研究团队，并让学生参与研究的各个方面，包括暑期实习，野生动物和生物医学科学的职业发展机会，以及基于课程的研究经验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Climate change can have harmful impacts on sensory systems, making it hard for animals to sense their environment, find food, and attract mates. This project identifies the specific ways in which climate change impacts the sensory biology and behavior of freshwater fish and uses that knowledge to develop tools to enhance the survival of desert fishes in the southwestern US. The project begins by measuring the effects of temperature, acidity, water flow rate, and lighting shifts on zebrafish senses. Zebrafish have been well-studied as models for human disease and as sentinels for pollution, such that the results of this project will shed light on the detailed physiological mechanisms underlying the effects of climate change on aquatic animals. For example, desert fishes in Arizona are being severely threatened by climate change and by the introduction of non-native fishes. Arizona Game and Fish Department researchers have been exploring solutions that involve raising native fishes in hatcheries for future reintroduction into the wild. This project contributes directly to those efforts by using zebrafish to test and develop ways to enhance sensory resilience by manipulating stress, reproductive state, and experiences, and by comparing the sensory abilities of native and non-native desert minnows. In addition, the project partners with the Arizona Game and Fish Department to share information on desert native fishes with local anglers, K-12 students, and teachers. Acidification impedes olfaction in aquatic animals, increased temperature impairs tactile sensitivity, and murky water can hamper vision. However, sensory systems are malleable and intertwined, such that when one sensory system becomes unreliable or ineffective, animals may compensate by relying more heavily on other senses. Such compensation may be enhanced or limited by underlying physiological mechanisms that link sensory systems to each other and to other organismal functions. This project tests whether and to what degree sensory systems are resilient to ecological shifts associated with climate change in aquatic habitats, making use of the expansive genomic toolkit available for zebrafish to place the results in a rich and broad context of cutting-edge neuroscience and genomics research. In addition, the project tests whether resilience can be enhanced by manipulating hormone physiology and recent sensory experiences. To solidify a foundation for future collaboration with Arizona Game and Fish Department scientists, the project also tests whether sensory differences can explain why native desert fishes survive better than do non-natives in streams with intermittent flow. The project leadership team includes a diverse team of researchers, and engages students in all aspects of the research, including summer internships, career development opportunities in wildlife and biomedical science, and course-based research experiences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.