Do young Antarctic fishes have the metabolic capacity to acclimate to ocean warming and ocean acidification?
The polar regions are experiencing warming from global climate change at the fastest rates on Earth. Unlike species in more temperate regions, polar species do not have the option to escape warming water via poleward migration. They therefore must rely on existing plastic stress responses to cope with climate change stressors. My PhD research at UC Davis focuses on understanding the behavioral and physiological stress responses of Antarctic fishes to ocean acidification (OA) and ocean warming (OW), two co-occurring climate change stressors. We examine the effects of OA and OW together, because while animals may be able to cope with a single stressor, they often lose their ability to cope with the presence of additional stressors.
|
Does a cannibal feeding strategy impart differential metabolic performance in young burbot?
The practice of mitigating cannibalism in aquaculture is an important focus for hatcheries seeking to maximize yield and has been maintained in hatcheries focusing on wild stock restoration. Cannibal burbot, however, are drastically larger than their non-cannibal siblings, suggesting a potential performance advantage of a cannibal feeding strategy. For my master's research at UC Davis, I examined the metabolic performance differences between cannibal and non-cannibal burbot, Lota lota maculosa, at the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Twin Rivers Hatchery in Moyie Springs, Idaho, USA. By examining metabolism on the cellular and whole-animal levels of biological organization (i.e. cellular metabolic enzyme activities and whole-animal respirometry), I found that cannibal and non-cannibal burbot exhibit distinct metabolic strategies, supporting the idea that each feeding strategy may indeed demonstrate larger physiological performance differences. This project provides an example of the importance of re-thinking standard practices to achieve conservation goals.
|
Frazier AJ, Jensen NR, Young SP, Todgham AE (2020) Does a cannibal feeding strategy impart differential metabolic performance in young burbot (Lota lota maculosa)?. Conserv Physiol 8(1): coaa034; doi:10.1093/conphys/coaa034.
Differential expression profiles of cannibalism in burbot
In conjunction with the metabolic performance project described above, I am also examining the molecular pathways associated with cannibalism using RNA-Seq. Understanding what pathways and genes are associated with cannibalism furthers our understanding of the potential performance differences between cannibal and non-cannibal burbot. This experiment is in progress, but it is clear that there are distinct transcriptomic signatures separating cannibal and non-cannibal burbot. Understanding differences in gene expression between each feeding strategy can provide insight into the molecular drivers associated with the cannibal feeding strategy, which would be useful for both conservation hatcheries and aquaculture facilities focused on food production alike.
|
Quantifying bioaccumulation and biomagnification in
epibenthic megafauna at McMurdo Station, Antarctica
My most meaningful research experience prior to graduate school was as part of the Observing the Ocean REU at Texas A&M in 2016. I worked with Dr. Andrew Klein to describe the extent of anthropogenic contamination (i.e. concentration levels of PCBs, PAHs, and trace metals) in the tissues of benthic organisms near United States Antarctic Program (USAP) research stations. I analyzed over a decade's worth of data to examine contamination levels across temporal and spatial scales, among species, and between the biotic and abiotic environments.
|