ASST_NON_2412790_049|

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ORCC - PHYSIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION & DEMOGRAPHIC RESCUE TO SURVIVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS -GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE REPRESENTS AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT FOR NEARLY ALL LIFE ON EARTH. A MAJOR CONCERN ASSOCIATED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IS THE RAPID CHANGE IN SALINITY IN BOTH MARINE AND FRESHWATER HABITATS THROUGHOUT THE GLOBE. IN HIGH LATITUDE COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS, SALINITY IS DECLINING RAPIDLY DUE TO INCREASES IN PRECIPITATION AND THE MELTING OF POLAR ICE CAPS. THESE COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS HARBOR PLANKTONIC COPEPODS, WHICH SERVE AS THE FOOD SOURCE FOR MANY COMMERCIAL FISHERIES AROUND THE GLOBE, SUCH AS HERRING AND ANCHOVY. AS THESE COPEPODS ARE VITAL FOR SUPPORTING FISHERIES AND THE HEALTH OF ECOSYSTEMS, IT IS CRUCIAL TO DETERMINE HOW COPEPOD POPULATIONS EVOLVE IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, INCLUDING CLIMATE CHANGE-RELATED SALINITY DECLINE. THIS NSF FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECT COMBINES THE EXPERTISE OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGISTS AND ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGISTS TO DETERMINE HOW THE COPEPODS EVOLVE IN RESPONSE TO DRASTIC SALINITY CHANGES. THIS STUDY WILL EXAMINE HOW OSMOREGULATORY (ION REGULATORY) FUNCTIONS EVOLVE IN RESPONSE TO SALINITY CHANGE AND WHICH MUTATIONS IN THE ION TRANSPORTER GENES ARE CAUSING THOSE CHANGES. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP MODELS THAT CAN FORECAST CHANGES IN POPULATIONS OF COPEPODS BASED ON THEIR CAPACITY TO EVOLVE IN RESPONSE TO SALINITY DECLINE. THE IMPACTS OF COPEPOD POPULATION DYNAMICS ON THE HEALTH OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES WILL ALSO BE MODELED. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO DEVELOP OUTREACH PROGRAMS TO EDUCATE K-12 STUDENTS AND THE BROADER PUBLIC ABOUT THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON COPEPODS, AS WELL AS HELP TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS. CLIMATE CHANGE DRIVES DRASTIC CHANGES IN THE GLOBAL WATER CYCLE, CAUSING THE FRESHENING OF HIGH LATITUDE COASTAL HABITATS, ESPECIALLY ESTUARIES. COPEPODS ARE THE MOST ABUNDANT ESTUARINE ANIMALS AND SUPPORT A LARGE PORTION OF THE WORLD'S FISHERIES. OUR PREVIOUS STUDIES REVEALED SURPRISINGLY PARALLEL RESPONSES TO RAPID CHANGES IN SALINITY IN POPULATIONS OF THE COPEPOD EURYTEMORA AFFINIS COMPLEX, WITH NATURAL SELECTION FAVORING THE SAME LOCI AND SAME SNPS (SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS), ESPECIALLY ION TRANSPORTER GENES. THIS PROJECT INTEGRATES PHYSIOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES TO ACCOMPLISH FIVE GOALS: 1) DETERMINE HOW THE FUNCTIONS OF ION TRANSPORTER ALLELES ARE EVOLVING AND 2) DISCOVER ALLELIC COMBINATIONS THAT ENHANCE ION TRANSPORT FUNCTION AND 3) MAXIMIZE FITNESS (SURVIVAL, REPRODUCTION) IN RESPONSE TO SALINITY AND TEMPERATURE CHANGE. THESE FUNCTIONAL DATA WILL THEN BE 4) INCORPORATED INTO EVOLUTIONARY RESCUE MODELS TO PREDICT COPEPOD POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY AND EXTINCTION PROBABILITY. FINALLY, AS COPEPODS ARE A MAJOR FOOD SOURCE FOR COMMERCIAL FISHERIES, THE MODELS 5) PROVIDE A TOOL TO FORECAST POPULATION DYNAMICS OF FISHERIES IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS STUDY WILL BROADEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERSTUDIED ION TRANSPORT MECHANISMS, SUCH AS NA+/H+ ANTIPORTERS (SLC9B), AND LINK PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF ION TRANSPORTER ALLELES WITH FITNESS EFFECTS, REVEALING HOW SELECTION ON BENEFICIAL ALLELES WILL IMPACT POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY. MOREOVER, THIS STUDY WILL YIELD NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO HOW SELECTION ACTS ON POLYGENIC TRAITS, PARTICULARLY ON HOW SELECTION ON COOPERATING ALLELES AND THEIR EPISTATIC INTERACTIONS COULD HELP DRIVE RATES OF ADAPTATION IN THE FACE OF RAPID HABITAT CHANGE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

Parent award:

n/a

Referenced IDV:

n/a

Agency code:

n/a

Subtier code:

n/a