Project Details
Projekt
Fish Transgenerational adaptative Strategies to ocean acidification and warming
Subject Area
Animal Physiology and Biochemistry
Oceanography
Oceanography
Term
from 2015 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 278246615
Anthropogenic CO2 emissions are absorbed by the world's oceans, leading to decreasing marine pH and carbonate levels, a process known as ocean acidification (OA). Ocean acidification is occurring coincident with ocean warming, and this combination (OAW) is threatening marine life. Having well developed acid-base and ion regulation capacities, fish have generally been considered relatively well protected against OAW-related changes in water conditions. Consequently, only a handful of physiological studies have investigated the influence of hypercapnia on fish physiology and behaviour. Current OAW research often uses experimental designs in which partial pressures of CO2 are well beyond the range projected by IPCC scenarios and impacts are only examined on one life stage. Yet, a growing body of evidence suggests that fish early developmental stages lack fully developed homeostatic capacities and behavioural repertoire and are, therefore, particularly sensitive to OAW. Other key shortcomings of current activities include a poor integration of cellular, tissue and organismal responses and a general lack of comprehension of the evolutionary (transgenerational) adaptation potential of fish to climate change. FITNESS addresses critical gaps in knowledge and shortcomings of previous OAW research by investigating the adaptive capacity of a warm temperate fish species (sea bass). FITNESS compares cellular-, tissue- and organismal-level impacts using measurements made on all life stages (embryos, larvae, juveniles and adults). Importantly, FITNESS compares OAW responses among the F0 and F1 generation of parental fish that have undergone exposure to OAW and offspring of natural (wild) broodstocks. FITNESS also paves the way for a more holistic assessment of fish population acclimation and adaptation capacity by linking OAW-related changes in phenotypic plasticity to determinants of Darwinian fitness and by testing the heritability of key performance traits which determine this evolutionary potential. To advance our cause-and-effect understanding of OAW impacts, conceptual models of responses at cellular and tissue levels will be integrated with whole-organism impacts by parameterizing physiological-based (bioenergetic) whole life cycle models examining potential trade-offs and adaptive capacity in growth, reproduction and survival. FITNESS will benefit from the availability of a large-scale fish rearing facility in France where large numbers (thousands) of fish will be followed over two generations both under laboratory control conditions and in semi-natural field mesocosms. FITNESS will also benefit from strong interactions with on-going national ocean acidification research programmes focusing on colder- and warmer-water fishes in Germany (BIOACID II) and Portugal, respectively, allowing broad comparisons to be made across species with different thermal niches.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
International Connection
France
Cooperation Partners
Professor Dr. Guy Claireaux; Dr. José Zambonino
