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Differential Effects of Food Restriction and Warming in the Two-Spotted Goby
Publication . Lopes, Ana F.; Murdoch, Robyn; Martins-Cardoso, Sara; Madeira, Carolina; Costa, Pedro M.; Félix, Ana S.; Oliveira, Rui F.; Bandarra, Narcisa M.; Vinagre, Catarina; Lopes, Ana R.; Gonçalves, Emanuel J.; Faria, Ana Margarida; UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; DCV - Departamento de Ciências da Vida; MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Climate change is a growing threat to marine organisms and ecosystems, and it is already modifying ocean properties by, for example, increasing temperature and decreasing pH. Increasing water temperature may also lead to an impairment of primary productivity and an overall depletion of available zooplankton. Understanding how the crossover between warming and zooplankton availability impacts fish populations has paramount implications for conservation and mitigation strategies. Through a cross factorial design to test the effects of ocean temperature and food availability in a temperate marine teleost, Pomatochistus flavescens, we showed that hindered feeding impacted sheltering and avoidance behaviour. Also, low food availability impaired fish reproduction, particularly male reproduction, as the expression of cyp11b1, a gene with a pivotal role in the synthesis of the most important fish androgen, 11-ketotestosterone, was significantly reduced under a low food regime. In contrast, temperature alone did not affect reproductive success, but offspring showed increased saturated fatty acid content (embryos) and increased lipid peroxidation (larvae). Altogether, food availability had a stronger effect on fitness, showing that coping with elevated temperatures, an ability that may be expected in shallow-water fish, can be indirectly impacted, or even overwhelmed, by the effects of ocean warming on primary productivity and downstream ecological processes.
Shallow water fish display low phenotypic plasticity to ocean warming and extreme weather events regardless of previous thermal history
Publication . Missionário, Madalena; Almeida, Célia; Fernandes, Joana Filipa; Vinagre, Catarina; Madeira, Carolina; Madeira, Diana; DCV - Departamento de Ciências da Vida; Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT); UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam.
Shallow water environments have long been recognized by scientists as sentinels for climate change. By analysing the impacts of ocean warming and marine heatwaves (MHW) in species from these areas, we can estimate their plasticity and hence vulnerability to thermal challenges. Pomatoschistus microps is a benthic intertidal fish species inhabiting coastal lagoons where temperature fluctuations are common. Here, we tested the effects of “Present” and “Future summer” scenarios (22 °C and 25 °C) and their respective heatwaves (27 °C and 30 °C) versus a “Control” scenario of 19 °C on warm (summer)- and cold (winter)- acclimatized fish. Then, we estimated phenotypic plasticity of critical thermal maximum (CTmax), oxygen consumption and cellular stress responses (CSR). Temperature seasonal variation and body weight (as proxy for body size) effects on fish thermal tolerance were also determined. Fish exposed to higher temperature treatments exhibited higher thermal tolerance, with this pattern being consistent for both warm- and cold-acclimatized fish. However, this difference was subtle (<4.6 %), suggesting a low capacity for acclimation. Nonetheless, warm-acclimatized fish (collected in summer) displayed significantly higher CTmax than cold-acclimatized fish (collected in winter), indicating that CTmax is influenced by seasonal thermal variation. Weight also represents a constraint factor for P. microps thermal tolerance, as heavier animals displayed lower CTmax. No alterations in O2 consumption, neither in CSR biomarkers were detected across temperature treatments, suggesting that fish were otherwise relatively insensitive to thermal fluctuations, independently of thermal history, within the thermal scenarios tested. Overall, the studied population of P. microps seems well adapted to temperature variations in their natural environment, exhibiting a large thermal safety margin (average of 11.02 °C).
Does predation exacerbate the risk of endosymbiont loss in heat stressed hermatypic corals?
Publication . Madeira, Carolina; Dias, Marta; Ferreira, Ana; Gouveia, Raúl; Cabral, Henrique N.; Diniz, Mário S.; Vinagre, Catarina; UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; Frontiers
Ocean warming has been a major driver of coral reef bleaching and mass mortality. Coupled to other biotic pressures, corals’ ability for acclimatization and adaptation may become compromised. Here, we tested the combined effects of warming scenarios (26, 30, and 32°C) and predation (wound vs. no wound) in coral health condition (paleness, bleaching, and mortality), cellular stress responses (heat shock protein 70 kDa Hsp70, total ubiquitin Ub, and total antioxidant capacity TAC), and physiological state (integrated biomarker response index, IBR) of seven Scleractinian coral species, after being exposed for 60 days. Results show that although temperature was the main factor driving coral health condition, thermotolerant species (Galaxea fascicularis, Psammocora contigua, and Turbinaria reniformis) displayed increased paleness, bleaching, and mortality in predation treatments at high temperature, whereas thermosensitive species (Acropora tenuis, Echinopora lamellosa, and Montipora capricornis brown and green morphotypes) all died at 32°C, regardless of predation condition. At the molecular level, results show that there were significant main and interactive effects of species, temperature, and predation in the biomarkers assessed. Temperature affected Hsp70, Ub, and TAC, evidencing the role of protein folding and turnover, as well as reactive oxygen species scavenging in heat stress management. Predation increased Hsp70 and Ub, suggesting the activation of the pro-phenoloxidase system and cytokine activity, whereas the combination of both stressors mainly affected TAC during moderate stress and Ub under severe stress, suggesting that redox balance and defense of homeostasis are crucial in tissue repair at high temperature. IBR levels showed an increasing trend at 32°C in predated coral fragments (although non-significant). We conclude that coral responses to the combination of high temperature and predation pressure display high inter-species variability, but these stressors may pose a higher risk of endosymbiont loss, depending on species physiology and stress intensity.
Plasticity in climate change responses
Publication . Stollewerk, Angelika; Kratina, Pavel; Sentis, Arnaud; Chaparro-Pedraza, Catalina; Decaestecker, Ellen; De Meester, Luc; Eyice, Ozge; Govaert, Lynn; Jones, John Iwan; Laforsch, Christian; Madeira, Carolina; Narwani, Anita; Oostra, Vicencio; Raeymaekers, Joost A.M.; Rossberg, Axel G.; Schott, Matthias; Stoks, Robby; van Velzen, Ellen; Boukal, David; UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; Wiley-Blackwell
Recent research has shown that climate change can both induce and modulate the expression of plastic traits but our understanding of the role of phenotypic plasticity as an adaptive response to climate change is limited. In this review, we dissect the mechanisms and impact of phenotypic plasticity as a response to accumulating climatic pressures on the individual, species and community levels. (i) We discuss how plasticity can affect individuals, populations and community dynamics and how climate change can alter the role of plasticity. We hypothesise that some pathways to phenotypic plasticity such as irreversible and anticipatory organismal responses will be reduced under increasing climate change. (ii) We then propose an integrated conceptual framework for studying phenotypic plasticity to advance our understanding of the feedbacks between the different levels of biological organisation. (iii) By formulating as yet unaddressed research questions within and across levels of biological organisation, we aim to instigate new research on phenotypic plasticity and its role in climate change responses.
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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
CEEC IND 2018
Número da atribuição
CEECIND/01526/2018/CP1564/CT0008