Rapid changes in environmental conditions due to global climate change are already having profound effects around the world, and are expected to become more common in the future. Understanding the roles of tolerance, plasticity and adaptation to high temperatures is paramount to forecasting organisms? responses to climate change and making informed conservation management decisions. Our project combines ecological, physiological and genomic approaches to enhance understanding of thermal tolerance mechanisms and developmental plasticity in two sympatric fishes, the endangered endemic delta smelt (Hypomensus transpacificus), and the invasive inland silverside (Menidia beryllina). Using this approach, we will compare genes and physiological pathways used to cope with thermal challenges for these species, offering insight into which fishes will be ?winners? or ?losers? in the future, warmer world.
Most fishes are ectotherms, and global climate change is predicted to have dramatic impacts on their biodiversity and distributions. Our work will greatly enrich the understanding of the mechanisms of thermal tolerance in fish adapted to variable temperature environments, and the ability of native and invasive species with sympatric distributions to cope with climate change. Thus, this research will significant contribute to both the fundamental understanding of evolutionary ecological questions as well as issues relevant to conservation management.
