Meeting Abstract
Climate change is affecting the planet in numerous ways, including increased glacial effluence into marine waters. The rate of glacial melt is predicted to increase in the short term and eventually cease, which means that in the near future increasing volumes of cold fresh water will be released into estuaries. It is unknown whether these changes to estuarine habitat characteristics are affecting organisms and the overall ecosystem. This project will investigate impacts of climate change on fish health by comparing metabolic rates of an indicator species, Starry Flounder (Platichthys stellatus), among estuaries that vary in their influence by melting glaciers. We predict that organisms from estuaries with the highest glacial effluence will show reduced metabolism compared to individuals from estuaries of lower glacial effluence. P. stellatus individuals were collected from estuaries of varying glacial effluence in Southeast Alaska. After a 24-hour fasting period under common conditions in a flow-through seawater system, each specimen’s rate of oxygen utilization was measured with a Loligo vertical respirometry chamber using a Witrox 4 oxygen meter. Oxygen utilization was controlled for body mass, and will be compared among fish from the different estuaries. The implications of this research will allow us to determine if melting glaciers are having a detectable effect on fish metabolism and health, contributing to the mounting body of evidence of how climate change is impacting marine organisms
