ORCC: Collaborative Research: Mechanisms underpinning the unusual, high CO2 sensitivity of sand lances, key forage fishes on the Northwest Atlantic Shelf

ORCC：合作研究：西北大西洋陆架上主要饲料鱼沙矛对二氧化碳异常敏感的机制

• 批准号: 2307814
• 负责人: Christopher Murray
• 金额: $ 26.06万
• 依托单位: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2307814&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ORCC; Collaborative; Research; Mechanisms; underpinning

Ocean warming and acidification are direct, predictable consequences of anthropogenic climate change with likely vast but still insufficiently understood consequences for marine life. So far, most tested fish species appear only mildly sensitive to ocean acidification, but sand lances are an exception. Sand lances are small, eel-like, schooling fishes of enormous importance as food for seabirds and mammals in temperate to polar ecosystems. Recent research conclusively demonstrated that many sand lance embryos have trouble developing and hatching under predicted future ocean conditions. This project uses modern experimental and molecular tools to understand exactly WHY sand lance embryos are so unusually sensitive and which genes and enzymes are responsible for this. Genes will also reveal whether some specific genotypes are less sensitive to warming and acidification, which can then be used to predict whether the species could evolve to be more tolerant over time. Another important objective is to test a closely related sand lance species to find out whether the high climate sensitivity might be of general concern in this important group of forage fishes. This project combines innovative ecological, evolutionary, and genomic research to help society anticipate looming marine ecosystem changes in the 21st century, while equipping the next generation of scientists with the needed tools and expertise to succeed in the challenges ahead. The project also creates opportunities for high school students from underprivileged Connecticut schools to accompany the team on sand lance sampling trips to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Two recent studies on Northern sand lance (Ammodytes dubius), a key forage fish on offshore sand banks across the Northwest Atlantic shelf, have robustly demonstrated that predicted future CO2 conditions induce some of the most severe reductions in embryo survival and hatching success seen yet among tested fish species. This project has four objectives for revealing the mechanisms underpinning this unusual, high CO2-sensitivity as well as the ubiquity and genetic basis of this phenomenon. [1] For the first time, we will rear A. dubius offspring produced from wild spawners to late larval stages at factorial CO2 × temperature conditions to test whether sand lance larvae are as CO2-sensitive as embryos. [2] For the first time, we will use transcriptomic tools (RNAseq, RT-qPCR) to elucidate mechanisms causing ‘CO2-impaired hatching’, focusing specifically on hatching enzymes, to better understand a newly discovered mortality mechanism due to high CO2 in fishes. [3] Modern genomic approaches (low-coverage whole genome sequencing; allele frequency shifts, relatedness analyses) will reveal whether high CO2-sensitivity has a genetic basis in sand lance and could therefore evolve. [4] And for the first time, we will extend CO2 × temperature experiments to a congener, the American sand lance (A. americanus), which provides an important scientific contrast between nearshore vs. offshore species CO2-sensitivities and will yield critical insights whether high CO2-sensitivity is a wider concern within the sand lance family. This award was co-funded through the BIO/IOS Organismal Responses to Climate Change Program and the GEO/OCE Biological Oceanography Program.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.

海洋变暖和酸化是人为气候变化的直接、可预测的后果，可能对海洋生物造成巨大但仍未充分了解的后果。到目前为止，大多数测试的鱼类似乎对海洋酸化只有轻微的敏感，但沙刺鱼是个例外。沙刺鱼是一种小型的、像鳗鱼一样的鱼群，是温带到极地生态系统中海鸟和哺乳动物的重要食物。最近的研究明确表明，在预测的未来海洋条件下，许多沙枪胚胎在发育和孵化方面存在困难。该项目使用现代实验和分子工具来准确理解为什么沙枪胚胎如此异常敏感，以及哪些基因和酶对此负责。基因还将揭示某些特定的基因型是否对变暖和酸化不那么敏感，这可以用来预测物种是否可以随着时间的推移进化得更有耐受性。另一个重要的目标是测试一种密切相关的沙矛鱼，以发现这种重要的饲料鱼类是否普遍存在高气候敏感性。该项目结合了创新的生态、进化和基因组研究，帮助社会预测21世纪迫在眉睫的海洋生态系统变化，同时为下一代科学家提供必要的工具和专业知识，以成功应对未来的挑战。该项目还为来自康涅狄格州贫困学校的高中生创造了机会，让他们陪同团队前往Stellwagen Bank国家海洋保护区进行沙枪取样。最近的两项研究有力地证明，在西北大西洋大陆架的近海沙洲上，一种重要的饲料鱼——北方沙矛鱼（Ammodytes dubius），预测未来的二氧化碳条件会导致胚胎存活率和孵化成功率的一些最严重的下降，这在测试的鱼类中是迄今为止所见的。这个项目有四个目标来揭示这种不寻常的、高二氧化碳敏感性的机制，以及这种现象的普遍性和遗传基础。[1]我们将首次在二氧化碳×温度的因子条件下，饲养从野生产卵到后期幼虫阶段的可疑双歧杆菌后代，以测试沙枪幼虫是否像胚胎一样对二氧化碳敏感。[2]我们将首次使用转录组学工具（RNAseq, RT-qPCR）来阐明导致“CO2受损孵化”的机制，特别是孵化酶，以更好地理解新发现的高CO2导致鱼类死亡的机制。[3]现代基因组学方法（低覆盖全基因组测序、等位基因频率移位、相关性分析）将揭示高二氧化碳敏感性在沙枪中是否具有遗传基础，并因此可以进化。[4]并且，我们将首次将CO2 ×温度实验扩展到一个同系物，美洲沙枪（a . americanus），这为近岸和近海物种的二氧化碳敏感性提供了重要的科学对比，并将提供关键的见解，即高二氧化碳敏感性是否在沙枪家族中得到更广泛的关注。该奖项由BIO/IOS气候变化有机体响应项目和GEO/OCE生物海洋学项目共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。