Effects of aquatic acidification on development in early life stages of commercial fish

我的长期研究目标是通过关注早期生命阶段的生理影响和发育，了解气候变化对具有重要商业价值的鱼类种群的影响。加拿大人依靠海洋获得食物、娱乐和收入，海洋酸化和变暖已成为威胁海洋资源的驱动力。随着对鱼的需求增加，加上气候变化，水产品生产的未来取决于通过考虑环境变化的物种和特定生命阶段的影响，改善渔业管理和可持续水产养殖。渔业和水产养殖生产的主要瓶颈之一是早期生命阶段的生存和生长不佳。处于这些阶段的鱼类特别容易受到次优环境条件的影响，因为它们对生长和器官形成的能量需求很高，调节能力不发达，流动性有限。我正在进行的研究表明，海洋酸化对鱼类的早期发育、生长和生存有很强的影响。然而，我也展示了鱼类对二氧化碳的敏感性的巨大差异，这取决于物种、种群和发育阶段。然而，目前尚不清楚这些差异背后的原因，它们如何受到其他气候变化因素的影响，如温度、氧气和食物的可获得性，以及当地二氧化碳的可变性如何影响脆弱性。为了解决这个问题，我的研究计划将专注于在下面概述的不同环境条件下饲养对渔业和水产养殖重要的鱼类的早期生命阶段。鱼类对气候变化的敏感性将由从基因到整个动物生理学的多种方法相结合来确定。这将使我们能够更好地预测气候变化对鱼类种群和生态系统变化的影响，以帮助渔业和水产养殖管理，并提供水产养殖生产的最佳做法。在我的研究计划的前5年，我将解决的三个关键问题是：1.二氧化碳与其他应激源如何结合影响鱼类的早期发育？2：二氧化碳的变异性如何改变鱼类的生理反应？3：潮间带鱼类胚胎期的空气暴露是否缓解了高水域二氧化碳的影响？这些研究领域将为培训学生在研究、分析、沟通、团队合作和领导力方面提供基础，同时创造一个吸引所有背景的学生的培训环境。我的研究重点是气候变化对加拿大重要的商业、养殖和生态重要鱼类物种的影响，以努力建立可持续的新蓝色经济。只有提高我们对气候变化变量如何影响具有重要商业价值的鱼种的健康和发展的了解，我们才能推进渔业和水产养殖管理、粮食安全和福利标准，以便更可持续地利用海洋资源。

My long-term research goal is to understand the impacts of climate change on commercially important fish populations by focusing on physiological effects and development in the early life stages. Canadians depend on the oceans for food, recreation and income, and ocean acidification and warming have emerged as driving forces threatening marine resources. With increasing demand for fish in combination with a changing climate, the future of fish production is dependent upon improving fisheries management and sustainable aquaculture by accounting for species and life-stage-specific effects of environmental change. One of the major bottlenecks in fisheries and aquaculture production is the poor survival and growth of the early life stages. Fish in these stages are particularly vulnerable to suboptimal environmental conditions, due to their high energy requirements for growth and organogenesis, undeveloped regulatory capacities and restricted mobility. My ongoing research has shown strong effects of ocean acidification on early development, growth and survival of fish. However, I have also shown large differences in the sensitivity of fish to CO2, depending on the species, population and developmental stage. Yet it is unclear what underlies these differences, how they are affected by other climate change factors, such as temperature, oxygen and food availability, and how local variability in CO2 affects vulnerability. To address this, my research program will focus on rearing early life stages of fishes important for fisheries and aquaculture, in different environmental conditions outlined below. Sensitivity of fishes to climate change will be determined by a combination of methods from genes to whole animal physiology. This will allow us to better predict the effects of climate change on fish populations and ecosystem changes to aid in fisheries and aquaculture management, as well as to inform best practices for aquaculture production. The three key questions I will address in the first 5 years of my research program are: 1. How does CO2 in combination with other stressors affect early fish development? 2: How does variability in CO2 alter the physiological response of fish? 3: Does air exposure during the embryonic phase in intertidal fish alleviate impacts of high aquatic CO2? These research areas will provide a foundation for training students in research, analytics, communication, teamwork and leadership, while creating a training environment that attracts students from all backgrounds. My research focuses on the effects of climate change on key commercially, culturally and ecologically important fish species in Canada, to strive for a sustainable new Blue Economy. Only by improving our knowledge of how climate change variables impact the health and development of commercially important fish species, can we advance fisheries and aquaculture management, food security and welfare standards for a more sustainable use of ocean resources.