Changes in climate could impact food sources for marine life, affecting natural ecosystems.
This problem is under the microscope at Genome British Columbia, which announced recently that it is supporting four targeted research projects in the wheelhouse of marine life conservation.
“We have a strong dependence on fisheries and aquaculture, for our health, culture, and economy,” says Dr. Federica Di Palma, who functions as Genome BC’s Chief Scientific Officer.
Genomics, Di Palma says, “gives us the depth of understanding we need to manage and protect these systems, ensuring they can continue to thrive alongside us.”
One project, for example, aims to learn from genetic information on wild sockeye salmon to help with fisheries management.
A team led by Dr. Jonathan Moore from Simon Fraser University, Dr. Eric Rondeau from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Dr. Matthew Sloat from the Wild Salmon Center will analyze 400 sockeye genomes across BC’s watersheds in hopes of identifying useful markers.
“Fish that shift to earlier or later migration can avoid stressful summer temperatures,” stated Sloat. “This information can contribute to conservation and natural resource management in an era of rapid climate change.”
Another project is looking at the population of wild Sablefish.
Dr. Amy Long and Dr. Kyle Garver from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Dr. Gregg Morin from the Genome Sciences Centre will expose sablefish to Aeromonas salmonicida at average and extreme ocean temperatures, then study how water temperature can affect fish immune response, whether the bacteria benefit from higher temperatures, and if any bacterial changes cause it to be more dangerous to fish.
“This will generate insights into fish immune responses and bacterial growth in warming waters,” commented Long. “These are critical first steps in developing disease prevention strategies that can help keep our fishery industries economically and sustainably secure.”
A third project has its crosshairs on zooplankton.
Dr. Mary O’Connor and Dr. Jessica Garzke from the University of British Columbia, alongside Dr. Akash Sastri from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, intend to create databases of zooplankton omics information and measure lipid profiles to determine which species are best adapting to warming.
“Understanding how climate change affects zooplankton metabolism will enhance our ability to manage marine ecosystems,” remarked Garzke. “It’s also important to fishery management as a measure of food quality.”
The fourth and final project intends to study how microbial life, which adapts far more quickly than evolution occurs in humans, be prove “a rapid lever for climate adaptation.”
Dr. Mitra Tabatabaee and Dr. Dina Navon from the University of the Fraser Valley are studying the three-spine stickleback fish, found in British Columbia, as a model species to explore the potential influence of microbiome diversity on physiological adaptation and survival under stressful temperatures.
“Microbiomes are … an integral part of human biology,” Tabatabaee noted. “This study may someday lead to potential strategies for our own health and resilience to climate change.”
Genome BC is actively involved in a number of other projects, such as one to protect the province’s wine industry, another oriented around stem cell research and development, and another supporting agtech innovation.
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