Pollution in coastal ecosystems
Increasing terrestrial runoff due to anthropogenic activities has become a major problem for marine ecosystems. Poor water quality has been shown to negatively affect reproduction in some species. As global change intensifies and water quality deteriorates in coastal zones around the world it is imperative that we understand and measure the capacity of organisms to recover, acclimatize and/or adapt to environments under stressful conditions. Current projects focus on the effects of nutrients and microplastics in shellfish and corals. The future of seafood
Climate change represents an increasing threat to the aquaculture industry. Among these threats is whether currently farmed species will possess the capacity to adapt or acclimatize to global climate change and remain profitable in the future. Understanding how cultured aquatic animals will be able to alter their physiology over both short and long-term scales (multiple generations) can help to identify species and genotypes more resistant to climate change and is one of the top priorities in aquaculture research. We have established partnerships with shellfish farms to determine the relative contribution of acclimatization, maternal and genetic effects in growth and survival of juvenile mussels. Outcomes of this research can be used by mussel growers to design genetic improvement programs that can provide an important step in addressing the challenges of climate change in this important industry. Future shellfish project |
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