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带特征发生了相当大的变化，导致缺氧发生率增加和温度升高。甲壳类动物是对缺氧最敏感的海洋生物之一，因此，在预测对底栖生物群落的长期影响时，了解它们的生理和行为反应将是非常宝贵的。从历史上看，当研究人员进行实验时，动物在实验前会适应新的实验室条件数周。此外，通常只改变一个环境变量。然而，自然并不存在于这个受控的“黑盒子”环境中。我的实验室最近的工作表明，大多数水生生物群落的环境特征是不断变化的。典型的以实验室为基础的驯化制度可能对许多生物来说过于控制，甚至有压力。本研究的主要重点是调查适应更自然的环境制度如何影响十足甲壳类动物的生理和行为。在第一个实验系列中，各种十足动物将使用多应激源单元适应循环缺氧/温度组合。然后在暴露于缺氧和温度的组合中测量标准的生理和生化参数。一个Loligo系统的羽毛球装置将用于确定行为偏好和运动活动对缺氧和温度的反应。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，以立即评估对环境变化的生理和行为反应，并与适应实验室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现场使用，但记录心率的小型化温度/加速度计标签是可用的。在这些实验中，植入心率记录仪的大型甲壳类动物将在监测环境变化的同时保持在野外。然后，这些动物将被带到实验室，在那里，物理化学参数将被复制，以确定是否可以复制相同的心率和活动模式。这些项目将为一些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代表了野生动物的反应，并可能改变我们看待和解释在受控环境下进行的实验的方式。

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.