ORCC: Sensory resilience and climate change

气候变化可能会对感官系统产生有害影响，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感官生物学和行为的具体方式，并利用这些知识开发工具，提高美国西南部沙漠鱼类的生存能力。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。斑马鱼已经被作为人类疾病的模型和污染的哨兵进行了充分的研究，因此这个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非本地鱼类引入的严重威胁。亚利桑那州猎物和渔业部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，以便未来重新引入野外。该项目通过使用斑马鱼来测试和开发通过操纵压力、繁殖状态和经历来增强感觉弹性的方法，并通过比较本地和非本地沙漠小鱼的感觉能力，直接为这些努力做出贡献。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，温度升高会削弱触觉敏感度，浑浊的水会阻碍视力。然而，感官系统是可塑性的和相互交织的，因此当一个感官系统变得不可靠或无效时，动物可能会通过更多地依赖其他感官来弥补。这种补偿可能会被潜在的生理机制增强或限制，这些生理机制将感觉系统相互联系起来，并与其他生物功能联系起来。该项目利用斑马鱼可用的庞大基因组工具包，将结果放在前沿神经科学和基因组学研究的丰富而广泛的背景下，测试感觉系统是否以及在多大程度上能够适应与水生生境气候变化有关的生态变化。此外，该项目还测试了是否可以通过控制激素生理学和最近的感官体验来增强韧性。为了巩固未来与亚利桑那州野生动物和鱼类部门科学家合作的基础，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断断续续流动的溪流中比非本地鱼类存活得更好。项目领导团队由不同的研究人员组成，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优势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.