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

大多数种类的鱼产生许多卵（r-选择）。例如，一只雌性美洲拟鲽（Pseudopleuronectes americanus）每年可以产下多达300万个卵，平均繁殖期为7年。然而，很少有胚胎能够存活下来繁殖。这些r-选择的物种，在野外和水产养殖环境中，在生命的第一年死亡率极高。 这种生活史策略对于我们理解鱼类种群动态具有根本重要性，也是水产养殖发展的一个重大挑战。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学和行为。我打算在五个方面继续研究：1）卵黄和脂质的数量和质量对幼虫大小和性能的影响，2）母体和父体对后代大小和性能变异的重要性，3）这些性状的遗传力，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）建立卵、幼虫和稚贝的空间分布生态模型。 在过去的几年里，我的实验室已经开发了一些先进的工具来研究基因型对鱼类性能性状（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蛋黄储备的大小和成分。我们最近还开发了冬比目鱼，鳕鱼和黑线鳕的有效精子冷冻保存方案。这两个进展为我们提供了机会，以检查父母的相对贡献后代的表现。虽然这些生物因素非常重要，但我们也必须了解非生物（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有关的非生物因素（如温度）如何影响鱼类生长和存活的信息。 这些数据将与实地分析一起使用，以研究鱼类去哪里以及为什么去。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.