Presentation Abstract
Climate change is a pressing environmental concern, and understanding how abiotic variation contributes to population dynamics and persistence may ultimately predict the fates of species. Ocean acidification negatively impacts a range of species, including those using calcium carbonate for shell formation such as shellfish, which are important as ecosystem engineers and for food security. While much is known about carbonate chemistry and impacts of ocean acidification on the U.S. Pacific coast, there is limited regional information in British Columbia (BC), especially in socio-economically important coastal zones for aquaculture and migrating fisheries populations. Laboratory experimentation mimicking future climate scenarios provide valuable information on biological impacts under controlled conditions, but do not take into account the natural environmental fluctuations of coastal environments that may influence population persistence. This research program combines lower trophic level monitoring (plankton analysis), physiological responses (functional genomics of commercial bivalves) and high speed near real-time oceanographic monitoring at a field site in the northern Salish Sea, to provide information on system variability and its biological impacts on coastal ecosystems. Site abiotic variability will be discussed in the context of pre-industrial to current condition effects on species. Shellfish gene expression data will focus on population plasticity or microevolutionary adaptation to seasonal, optimal and sub-optimal calcium carbonate conditions over the short and long-term.
Session Title
Ocean Acidification: Observations and Monitoring in Salish Sea Waters
Keywords
Ocean acidification, Shellfish, Physiology
Conference Track
SSE5: Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation, and Research
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE5-218
Start Date
5-4-2018 11:15 AM
End Date
5-4-2018 11:30 AM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Ocean acidification--Environmental aspects--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Shellfish--Climatic factors--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
The story so far: an in situ pairing of chemical oceanography and physiology
Climate change is a pressing environmental concern, and understanding how abiotic variation contributes to population dynamics and persistence may ultimately predict the fates of species. Ocean acidification negatively impacts a range of species, including those using calcium carbonate for shell formation such as shellfish, which are important as ecosystem engineers and for food security. While much is known about carbonate chemistry and impacts of ocean acidification on the U.S. Pacific coast, there is limited regional information in British Columbia (BC), especially in socio-economically important coastal zones for aquaculture and migrating fisheries populations. Laboratory experimentation mimicking future climate scenarios provide valuable information on biological impacts under controlled conditions, but do not take into account the natural environmental fluctuations of coastal environments that may influence population persistence. This research program combines lower trophic level monitoring (plankton analysis), physiological responses (functional genomics of commercial bivalves) and high speed near real-time oceanographic monitoring at a field site in the northern Salish Sea, to provide information on system variability and its biological impacts on coastal ecosystems. Site abiotic variability will be discussed in the context of pre-industrial to current condition effects on species. Shellfish gene expression data will focus on population plasticity or microevolutionary adaptation to seasonal, optimal and sub-optimal calcium carbonate conditions over the short and long-term.
