Synergistic Effects of Climate-Related Variables on Larval Sea Urchins: Performance to Gene Expression

标题：气候相关变量对海胆幼虫的协同效应：对基因表达的表现由于全球气候变化，海洋和生活在其中的生物在未来面临重大挑战。海洋变暖和海洋酸化（由于吸收大气中的二氧化碳而使海洋pH值升高）一起给海洋生物带来了“双重危险”的局面，从繁殖到生长甚至生存的许多方面都受到了挑战。由于海洋条件将迅速变化（几乎没有时间适应），研究当今海洋生物的耐受性是一个至关重要的优先事项，因为它们及其后代将在其海洋栖息地面临气候变化的后果。该项目的目标是研究紫海胆（strongylocentrrotus purpuratus）的早期发育阶段，并调查幼虫在游泳和摄食阶段如何对温度和pH值（海洋酸化）的同时变化做出反应。在模拟未来海洋pH值和温度的实验室海水条件下饲养幼虫后，研究人员将测量氧气消耗、它们的代谢特征（如脂肪含量），并检查它们的基因是如何对高温和酸性条件下的压力做出反应的。这项研究项目的成果和课堂上教师和学生的资源将通过http://hofmannlab.msi.ucsb.edu/.Although提供，海胆可能不像鲑鱼或牡蛎那样为公众所熟悉，它们是美国西海岸生态和经济上重要的物种。例如，加利福尼亚海岸的海胆支撑着一个重要的野生渔业；2008年，仅在加州，从海胆潜水中捕获的海胆价值约为1000万美元。作为食草动物，海胆对健康的沿海海洋生态系统至关重要。海胆是一个很好的研究系统，它允许使用现代研究工具来阐明气候变化对人类重要问题的影响，如食物来源、提供食物和就业的渔业以及健康的海洋生态系统。

Gretchen E.Hofmann IOS-1010536 Title: Synergistic effects of climate­related variables on larval sea urchins: Performance to gene expressionOceans and the creatures living in them face significant challenges in the future as a result of global climate change. Together, ocean warming and ocean acidification (an increase in ocean pH due to the absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide) present a "double jeopardy" situation for marine organisms, challenging many aspects of their biology from reproduction to growth and perhaps even survival. Since the conditions in the oceans will change rapidly (leaving little time for adaptation), it is a critical priority to study the tolerances of today's marine organisms, because they and their offspring will be the ones facing the consequences of climate change in their marine habitat.The goal of this project is to study an early developmental stage of the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) and investigate how the larvae, at swimming and feeding stage, will respond to the simultaneous change in temperature and pH (ocean acidification). After larvae are raised in the laboratory in seawater conditions that mimic the projected pH and temperature of future oceans, the investigators will measure oxygen consumption, characteristics of their metabolism such as fat content, and examine how their genes are activated in response to the stress of higher temperatures and more acidic pH conditions. The outcomes of this research projects and resources for teachers and students in classrooms will be made available through http://hofmannlab.msi.ucsb.edu/.Although sea urchins may not be as familiar to the general public as salmon or oysters, they are an ecologically and economically important species on the West Coast of the United States. For example, the sea urchins on the California coast support an important wild fishery; in 2008, the catch from sea urchin diving had a value of ~$10 million in California alone. As grazing herbivores, sea urchins are important to healthy coastal marine ecosystems. The sea urchin is a excellent study system, allowing the use of modern research tools to illuminate the implications of climate change for important human concerns such as food sources, fisheries that provide food and jobs, and healthy marine ecosystems.