Ocean warming and acidification effects on Antarctic fish embryos

The sensitivity of long-lived, slow reproducing fishes to near-future environmental change (such as ocean warming and acidification) depends largely on their plasticity to tolerate novel conditions. While early life stages show enhanced sensitivity to abiotic change, development plasticity may play an important role in physiological resistance or resilience to novel conditions. To investigate the physiological response during embryogenesis to warmer (+3°C) and pCO2-enriched (+400 and 800 µatms) polar oceans, we integrated four weeks of experimental data from transcriptomics, metabolism, and phenology in the Antarctic dragonfish Gymnodraco acuticeps. Incorporating multiple levels of biological organization into measured responses provides mechanistic insight and allows further context into sensitivity vs. plasticity of early life stages to polar warming and acidification.