Integrative physiology of animal performance during environmental stress

环境缺氧（低氧），无论是自然发生的还是人类活动引起的，都会影响野生动物的生存和生产性能。所有脊椎动物对缺氧都有一定的反应能力，但显然有些物种比其他物种更能在缺氧环境中茁壮成长。虽然我们对一些特别耐受性的脊椎动物的耐缺氧机制了解很多，但尚不清楚从研究这些动物中获得的知识是否可以推广到具有不同耐受性的不同物种。我的研究计划通过研究脊椎动物群体内部和跨群体缺氧耐受性的自然变化来解决我们知识上的这一差距。我将使用综合生理学方法来解释——从分子到有机体水平——鱼类、哺乳动物和鸟类是如何在缺氧环境中生存和活动的。比较进化方法将用于识别，赋予适应性意义，并为缺氧耐受的呼吸和代谢机制提供环境相关性。这将与模式物种方法相结合，可以提供在非模式生物中探索不切实际的发育和基因组见解。全球变化正使许多动物面临缺氧的新现实，从生活在富营养化环境中的水生物种到在高海拔地区寻求更凉爽温度的陆生物种。这项拟议中的研究很重要，因为它将解释具有不同缺氧耐受性的不同物种如何可能受到全球变化的影响，从而确定风险最大的物种。这笔拨款将允许我完成1名博士、3名硕士和10名学士的培训，这些学生具有对许多科学事业非常宝贵的高级技能和技术，并开始培训另外两名研究生。我的工作将通过帮助理解和保护加拿大人的健康、生活质量和经济利益的自然环境产生重大影响。

Environmental hypoxia (low oxygen), whether it is naturally occurring or induced by human activities, can impact the survival and performance of animals in the wild. All vertebrates have some capacity for responding to hypoxia, but there are clearly some species that are more capable of thriving in hypoxic environments than others. Although we know a great deal about the mechanisms of hypoxia tolerance in some exceptionally tolerant vertebrates, it is unclear if the knowledge gained from studying these animals can be generalized to different species with different tolerances. My research program addresses this gap in our knowledge by studying the natural variation in hypoxia tolerance within and across vertebrate groups. I will use integrative physiological methodologies to explain - from molecular to organismal levels - how fish, mammals, and birds are able to live and perform in hypoxic environments. A comparative evolutionary approach will be used to identify, ascribe adaptive significance to, and provide environmental relevance for the respiratory and metabolic mechanisms of hypoxia tolerance. This will be combined with a model species approach that can provide developmental and genomic insights that are impractical to explore in non-model organisms. Global change is making hypoxia a new reality for many animals, from aquatic species living in eutrophic environments to terrestrial species seeking cooler temperatures at high altitude. The proposed research is important because it will explain how different species, with different hypoxia tolerances, are likely to be affected by global change, and will thus identify the species that are most at risk. The grant will allow me to complete the training of 1 Ph.D., 3 M.Sc., and 10 B.Sc. students with advanced skills and techniques that are invaluable for many scientific careers, and to begin training two additional graduate students. My work will make significant impacts by helping understand and protect our natural environment for the health, quality of life, and economic benefit of Canadians.