Ecology and behaviour during early life stages of fishes: theory and application

大多数鱼类都会产很多卵（r-选择）。例如，雌性冬鲽鱼（Pseudopleurectes americanus）每年可产下多达 300 万枚卵，平均繁殖期为 7 年。然而，很少有胚胎能够存活并繁殖。这些经过选择的物种，无论是在田间还是水产养殖环境中，在生命第一年的死亡率都非常高。 这种生活史策略对于我们了解鱼类种群动态至关重要，也是水产养殖发展的重大挑战。我和我的学生一起研究鱼类在这些重要的早期生命阶段的生态和行为。我建议继续在五个领域进行研究：1）卵黄和脂质的数量和质量对幼虫体型和性能的影响，2）母系和父系对后代体型和性能变异的重要性，3）这些性状的遗传性，4）非生物因素对生长和存活的影响及其与区域1至3的相互作用，5）卵、幼体和幼体分布空间生态模型的发展。 在过去的几年里，我的实验室开发了许多先进的工具来研究基因型对鱼类性能特征（表型）的影响。我们开发了第一个成功的显微注射系统来控制鱼胚胎中卵黄储备的大小和成分。我们最近还为冬季比目鱼、鳕鱼和黑线鳕开发了高效的精子冷冻保存方案。这两项进展为我们提供了研究父母对后代表现的相对贡献的机会。虽然这些生物因素极其重要，但我们还必须了解非生物（物理）因素如何影响它们。我们将继续进行实验室实验，以提供与生态和水产养殖相关的非生物因素（例如温度）如何影响鱼类生长和生存的信息。 这些数据将用于现场分析，以研究鱼的去向及其原因。空间生态学的这一方面提供了小规模实验室实验和野生种群研究之间的关键联系。

Most species of fish produce many eggs (r-selected). For example, a female winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) can produce up to 3 million eggs per year and is reproductive for an average of 7 years. However, very few embryos survive to reproduction. Mortality rates for these r-selected species, both in field and aquaculture settings, are extremely high during the first year of life. This life-history strategy is of fundamental importance to our understanding of fish population dynamics and a significant challenge to aquaculture development. Together with my students, I study ecology and behaviour of fishes during these important early life stages. I propose to continue my research in five areas: 1) effects of yolk and lipid quantity and quality on larval size and performance, 2) importance of maternal and paternal contributions to offspring variability in size and performance, 3) heritability of these traits, 4) effects of abiotic factors on growth and survival and their interactions with areas 1 through 3, and 5) development of spatial ecological models of egg, larval and juvenile distributions. Over the past few years my lab has developed a number of advanced tools to investigate the effects of genotype on performance traits (phenotype) of fishes. We developed the first successful microinjection system to control size and constituents of yolk reserves in fish embryos. We also recently developed efficient sperm cryopreservation protocols for winter flounder, cod and haddock. These two advances provide us with the opportunity to examine the relative contributions of the parents to offspring performance. While these biotic factors are extremely important, we also have to understand how abiotic (physical) factors may affect them. We will continue to conduct laboratory-based experiments to provide information on how abiotic factors (such as temperature), relevant to ecology and aquaculture, affect fish growth and survival. This data will be used with field analyses to study where fish go and why. This aspect of spatial ecology provides a key link between small-scale laboratory experiments and the study of wild populations.