Using more natural acclimation regimes to study the physiological responses of decapod crustaceans to environmental perturbations

气候变化和人为富营养化导致浅海地带的特征发生了相当大的变化，导致缺氧发生率增加和气温上升。甲壳类是对缺氧最敏感的海洋生物之一，因此，了解它们的生理和行为反应在预测对海底群落的长期影响时将是非常宝贵的。从历史上看，当研究人员进行实验时，动物会在实验前几周适应新的实验室条件。此外，通常只有一个环境变量发生变化。然而，自然并不存在于这个受控的“黑匣子”环境中。我的实验室最近的研究表明，大多数水生生物的环境特征都在不断变化。典型的基于实验室的驯化机制可能太过受控，甚至对许多生物体来说都是有压力的。这项研究的主要重点是调查适应更自然的环境条件如何影响十足类甲壳类动物的生理和行为。在第一个实验系列中，各种十足类物种将使用多应激源单元来适应循环的低氧/温度组合。然后，在暴露于低氧和温度的组合期间，将测量标准的生理和生化参数。将使用Lolio Systems Shuttleboxr设备来确定行为偏好和运动活动，以响应缺氧和温度。实验也将在现场进行。近年来，数据记录变得更加精细，现在可以在现场记录环境参数的细微变化。动物将被饲养在野外不同地点的网笼中，同时记录理化参数。这些野外动物将被转移到实验室，立即评估对环境变化的生理和行为反应，并与在实验室适应长期稳定条件的甲壳类动物进行比较。最后，虽然大多数生理仪器不能在野外使用，但可以使用记录心率的微型温度/加速度计标签。在这些实验中，植入了心率记录器的大型甲壳类动物将在野外保持不变，同时监测环境变化。然后，这些动物将被带进实验室，在那里复制物理化学参数，以确定是否可以复制相同的心率和活动模式。这些项目将为一批本科生和研究生提供培训。这些项目的结果应该表明，基于实验室的实验是否准确地反映了野生动物的反应，并可能改变我们看待和解释在受控环境中进行的实验的方式。

Climate change and anthropogenic eutrophication have caused a considerable change in the characteristics of shallow coastal zones, leading to increases in the incidence of hypoxia and a rise in temperature. Crustaceans are among the most sensitive marine organisms to hypoxia, thus, knowledge of their physiological and behavioural responses will be invaluable when predicting long-term effects on benthic communities. Historically, when researchers carry out experiments animals are acclimated to new laboratory conditions for a number of weeks prior to experimentation. In addition, only one environmental variable is usually changed. However, nature does not exist in this controlled "black box" environment. Recent work from my lab suggests the environmental characteristics of most aquatic biomes are constantly changing. The typical lab-based acclimation regimes may be too controlled and even stressful for many organisms. The main focus of this research is to investigate how acclimation to more natural environmental regimes influences the physiology and behaviour of decapod crustaceans. In the first experimental series a variety of decapod species will be acclimated to cycling hypoxia/temperature combinations using a multi-stressor unit. Standard physiological and biochemical parameters will then be measured during exposure to combinations of hypoxia and temperature. A Loligo systems Shuttleboxr apparatus will be used to determine behavioural preferences and locomotor activity in response to hypoxia and temperature. Experiments will also be performed in the field. Data logging has become more refined in recent years and fine-scale changes in environmental parameters can now be recorded in situ. Animals will be maintained in mesh cages at various locales in the field while recording the physicochemical parameters. These field animals will be transferred to the lab for immediate assessment of physiological and behavioural responses to environmental change and compared to crustaceans acclimated to long-term stable conditions in the lab. Finally, while most physiological apparatus cannot be used in the field, miniaturized temperature/accelerometer tags that record heart rate are available. In these experiments large crustaceans implanted with heart rate loggers will be maintained in the field while monitoring environmental changes. These animals will then be brought into the lab where physicochemical parameters will be replicated to determine if the same patterns in heart rate and activity can be reproduced. These projects will provide training for a number of undergraduate and graduate students. The results of these projects should show if lab-based experiments accurately represent the responses of animals in the wild and may change the way we view and interpret experiments performed in controlled settings.