OTOLOG · Otoliths as metabolic loggers: Examining the physiological basis for climate resilience in wild populations of marine fish
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-11-01 → 2018-10-31
- EU contribution
- €200,195
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
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Results in brief
Otoliths as metabolic loggers: Examining the physiological basis for climate resilience in wild populations of marine fish
Measurement of metabolic rates in the laboratory is the current approach to study the physiological ecology of fish, but this type of measurements does not capture fish performance within a complex natural environment. This major knowledge gap impedes progress in many fundamental areas of biology including fish behaviour, distribution and growth; all of which require explicit or implicit assumptions regarding the metabolic response of free-ranging individuals. In the OTOLOG project, we overcome this challenge by successfully reconstructing field metabolic rates of a teleost fish, the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), by using otolith carbon isotopes. The work during the 24 months of the OTOLOG project developed a novel method to estimate the field metabolic rate (FMR) of fishes in the wild from carbon isotopic values of their otoliths. The methodology allows us to track ontogenetic variation of FMR in individual fish and assess environmental impacts on fish physiology with weekly resolution and removes a major obstacle to understanding and predicting the performance of free-ranging wild fish. The development includes (1) a lab-controlled experiment to establish a practical equation of transferring otolith metabolic proxy to oxygen consumption in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), (2) a validation of established otolith metabolic proxy in wild cod, and (3) an application of otolith metabolic proxy in different cod populations to answer fundamental ecological questions associated with metabolism. We achieved the aim of this project and the two main objectives: Objective 1: Investigation of the δ13Coto proxy of fish metabolic rate in experimental fishes. Objective 2: Exploring metabolic responses to temperature in free ranging fishes.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The effect of temperature changes on ecosystems is determined by the physiological responses of individual organisms, but most studies predict responses at the species level. This conceptual convenience allows us to use relatively simple models but does not allow for phenotypic plasticity or adaptation: the extent to which individuals are able to mitigate combined direct and indirect effects of temperature change by modifying their behaviour or energy budgets. The role of phenotypic plasticity in predicting population, species and ecosystem responses to change is one of the most pressing, but challenging areas in modern ecology. The importance of adaptation in moderating the ecological effects of warming in marine systems is very poorly understood. Field metabolic rate (FMR) is the amount of energy consumed by an individual while performing day to day biological functions. An individual’s field metabolic rate therefore integrates a wide range of physiological and behavioural responses to the ambient environment, and is an ideal metric for understanding how individuals respond and adapt to temperature change. Unfortunately, there are major scientific challenges to measuring field metabolic rates in natural conditions. We will meet the challenge of recording FMR in marine ectotherms by exploiting a new biogeochemical measurement field metabolic rate in marine fishes based on the stable carbon isotope composition of otoliths. We will measure metabolic responses of a model organism, the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), and test a series of fundamental ecological hypotheses relating between-individual diversity in respiratory physiology to population scale resilience. Our research will break new ground by turning otoliths into internal metabolic loggers and significantly impact on our ability to investigate the links between individual adaptations, climate change and the distribution and persistence of populations.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- AARHUS UNIVERSITET · Aarhus CCoordinatorDenmark
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/707481
- https://web.archive.org/web/20200903192556/https://www.researchgate.net/project/Otoliths-as-metabolic-loggers-Examining-the-physiological-basis-for-climate-resilience-in-wild-populations-of-marine-fish
Data: CORDIS, © European Union