Climate change impacts in the marine environment

全球气候变化对世界海洋有两个重要影响：1）由于温室效应，海洋表面温度正在上升，2）由于过量的二氧化碳，海洋的酸度正在增加。这两个变化将对海洋物种产生深远的影响，其中许多在加拿大具有生态，经济和文化价值。例如，气温上升导致物种分布范围向高纬度和更深的沃茨转移，酸度上升开始限制那些用碳酸钙建造外壳或骨架的物种的生长速度（例如珊瑚和软体动物）。我的研究计划将调查气候变化对岩石海岸的影响，这是与气候有关的研究的极好系统，因为温度等环境影响已经非常重要，而且因为潮间带植物和动物易于操纵。我在潮间带的研究解决了两个基本问题：1）海洋生物如何应对温度和二氧化碳/ pH值的变化，2）气候对一个或几个关键物种的影响如何调节群落结构？为了解决第一个问题，我正在实验室中操纵温度和二氧化碳浓度，以确定它们对海洋生物生长和繁殖的影响。为了解决第二个问题，我正在使用现场和实验室操作相结合的方法来研究温度升高和二氧化碳浓度对相互作用的物种群体（例如掠食性海星及其贻贝猎物）的影响。通过操纵环境变量和物种相互作用，我将能够确定气候对有限数量的关键物种的影响如何决定气候变化对沿海海洋栖息地的总体影响。

Global climate change is having two important effects on the world's oceans: 1), sea surface temperature is increasing due to the greenhouse effect, and 2) the acidity of the oceans is increasing due to excess carbon dioxide. These two changes will have far-reaching consequences for marine species, many of which are ecologically, economically, and culturally valuable in Canada. For example, rising temperatures are causing species ranges to shift to higher latitudes and deeper waters, and rising acidity is beginning to limit growth rates in species that build shells or skeletons out of calcium carbonate (e.g. corals and molluscs).My research program will investigate the effects of climate change on rocky shores, which are excellent systems for climate-related research because environmental effects such as temperature are already very important, and because intertidal plants and animals are easy to manipulate. My research in the intertidal zone addresses two fundamental questions: 1) how will marine organisms respond to changes in temperature and carbon dioxide / pH, and 2) how will climatic impacts on one or a few key species regulate community structure? To address the first question, I am manipulating temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations in the laboratory to determine their effects on the growth and reproduction of marine organisms. To address the second question, I am using a combination of field and laboratory manipulations to examine the effects of rising temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations on interacting groups of species (e.g. predatory sea stars and their mussel prey). By manipulating both environmental variables and species interactions, I will be able to determine how climate effects on a limited number of key species may determine the overall impact of climate change in coastal marine habitats.