Meeting Abstract
While organisms may adapt to local environments over many generations, those exposed to acute stress may confer stress tolerance to their progeny on shorter time scales through processes such as protective parental effects. In an era of rapidly changing environmental conditions, shorter-term mechanisms may be vital to the survival of many species, especially if such processes can provide protection comparable to that of longer-term adaptation. The anemone Nematostella vectensis is found in isolated estuaries from Canada to the southern United States. Their large latitudinal range and physically constrained habitats have facilitated genetic divergence between populations and adaptation to their local environments. We subjected N. vectensis from Massachusetts to acute heat stress and measured the thermal tolerance of their larvae. We find an increase in the temperature at which 50% of the larvae suffer mortality (LT50) in progeny from heat-stressed parents comparable to LT50 differences between Massachusetts and Maryland populations. Further experiments are in progress to compare the thermal tolerances of larvae from heat-stressed Massachusetts parents with those from South Carolina parents, as well as hybrid larvae resulting from crosses between the two populations. If protective parental effects can provide substantial thermal resistance to offspring, more rapid acclimatization to environmental stress may be able to occur. Understanding these processes can also elucidate of the fate of other cnidarians such as corals, which are highly susceptible to heat stress.
