Mechanisms and evolution of hypoxia tolerance

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Environmental hypoxia is a common, naturally occurring phenomenon in many aquatic ecosystems. In light of this, it is perhaps not surprising that among all vertebrates, fish boast the largest number of hypoxia tolerant species. Hypoxia has clearly played an important role in shaping the evolution of traits to enhance hypoxia survival. Despite several decades of study however, we still do not have a complete understanding of the factors that explain variation in hypoxia tolerance. To address this knowledge gap, my research program uses the natural variation in hypoxia tolerance seen among groups of fish to determine the important molecular, cellular, and biochemical mechanisms that underlie hypoxia tolerance. In addition, we use a combination of common garden experiments and hypoxia exposures, in adults and developing embryos, to tease out whether variation in hypoxia tolerance among fish species is due to natural selection and adaptation or due to previous hypoxia exposure during the organism's lifetime. Research of this nature is important because the prevalence of aquatic hypoxia is on the rise due to human-related activities, and as such, fishes and other aquatic organisms are now experiencing unprecedented fluctuations in their environment that are testing their tolerance limits. Understanding the factors that set a species' tolerance limits to hypoxia is an essential first step in predicting which animals are most a risk due to a changing environment. Furthermore, understanding the basic biology of hypoxia in animals that have evolved mechanism to survive it will undoubtedly shed light on candidate systems for biomedical research. This grant will allow me to train at least 4 Ph.D., 5 M.Sc., and 12 B.Sc. students in the most advanced analytical and conceptual approaches for understanding how animals interact with their environment.