Meeting Abstract
Anthropogenic climate change is predicted to trigger large-scale changes in ocean chemistry over the next few decades, resulting in ocean acidification and hypoxia. These conditions may be exacerbated in coastal upwelling regions where strong, seasonal increases in pCO2 and hypoxia are expected to intensify under climate change. Nearshore rockfishes (genus Sebastes) may already be adapted to fluctuating upwelling environments along the West coast of North America, but intensified conditions could push individuals beyond their physiological thresholds. We examined the effects of fluctuating vs. static levels of combined high pCO2 and low dissolved oxygen on gill transcriptomes of three juvenile rockfish congeners with different life histories: copper (S. caurinus), gopher (S. carnatus) and black rockfishes (S. melanops) to examine potential shifts in ion regulation and metabolism. Preliminary findings show significant changes in DGE of fishes treated under fluctuating-relaxation conditions vs. control. These differing expression profiles may reflect recovery from upwelling or acclimatory preparation for subsequent upwelling exposure. Species-specific and shared responses across species will be discussed in context of life history differences and possible mechanistic underpinnings of conserved physiological responses. Comparing rockfish responses to static vs. fluctuating conditions provides insights into effects of intensified upwelling in an ecologically and economically important group of marine fishes in North America.
