Meeting Abstract
The degradation of coastal marine ecosystems from anthropogenic climate change and a global dependence on ocean resources necessitates an understanding of how marine organisms are likely to be affected. Predictions about organismal response to climate change may not be reliable until we investigate under environmentally relevant settings that integrate both physical conditions and ecological aspects such as species interactions. This project explores the interactive effects of abiotic (temperature) and biotic (feeding history and risk of predation) stressors on intertidal mussels Mytilus edulis. We examined how the combination of multiple stressors affects biochemical processes at a subcellular level. Mussels from two feeding groups (starved and fed) were exposed to the presence or absence of predator cues at five water temperatures (ranging between 15-31°) across four short-term time points (between 0-60 min) to examine their physiological performance under acute stress events. Attention to the metabolic pathways that are independently and interactively affected by these stressors is key to understanding their role in shaping the whole-organism energetics of this important ecosystem engineer. To expound the effects of these stressors on metabolic functions, I will be measuring various enzymatic activity levels including citrate synthase to assess maximum aerobic capacity and lactate dehydrogenase to measure anaerobic reliance. We will also evaluate susceptibility to oxidative stress by measuring markers of oxidative damage and antioxidant capacity by measuring enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase. This experiment will elucidate if a combination of stressors has a synergistic effect on biochemical processes and will provide critical insight into how environmental change may impact intertidal communities.
