USAP-DC

Cold-blooded animals in the Antarctic ocean have survived in near-constant, extreme cold conditions for millions of years and are very sensitive to even small changes in water temperature. However, the consequences of this extreme thermal sensitivity for the energetics, development, and survival of developing embryos is not well understood. This award will investigate the effect of temperature on the metabolism, growth rate, developmental rate, and developmental energetics of embryos and larvae of Antarctic marine ectotherms. The project will also measure annual variation in temperature and oxygen at different sites in McMurdo Sound, and compare embryonic and larval metabolism in winter and summer to determine the extent to which these life stages can acclimate to seasonal shifts. This research will provide insight into the ability of polar marine animals and ecosystems to withstand warming polar ocean conditions. Antarctic marine ectotherms exhibit universally slow growth, low metabolic rates, and extended development, yet many of their rate processes related to physiology and metabolism are highly thermally sensitive. This suggests that small changes in temperature may result in dramatic changes to energy metabolism, growth, and the rate and duration of development. This project will measure the effects of temperature on metabolism, developmental rate, and the energetic cost of development of four common and ecologically important species of benthic Antarctic marine invertebrates. These effects will be measured over the functional ranges of the organisms and in the context of environmentally relevant seasonal shifts in temperature around McMurdo Sound. Recent data show that seasonal warming of ~1 deg C near McMurdo Station is accompanied by long-lasting hyperoxic events that impact the benthos in the nearshore boundary layer. This research will provide a more comprehensive understanding of both annual variation in environmental oxygen and temperature across the Sound, and whether this variation drives changes in developmental rate and energetics that are consistent with physiological acclimatization. These data will provide key information about potential impacts of warming Antarctic ectotherms. In addition, this project will support undergraduate and graduate research and partner with large-enrollment undergraduate courses and REU programs at an ANNH and AANAPISI Title III minority-serving institution. 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.

Person	Role
Moran, Amy	Investigator and contact

Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems

Award # 1745130

USAP-1745130_1

None in the Database

Repository	Title (link)	Format(s)	Status
USAP-DC	Video of Colossendeis megalonyx behavior around egg mass	MP4	exists
USAP-DC	Egg diameters of Colossendeis megalonyx	Excel	exists
USAP-DC	Survey Metadata. All counts of Odontaster validus from SSWS surveys at the McMurdo Intake Jetty and Cinder Cones.	Microsoft Excel (OpenXML)	exists
USAP-DC	Benthic seawater temperature and conductivity measurements at six sites in McMurdo Sound	Microsoft Excel (OpenXML)	exists
USAP-DC	Temperature effects on proximal composition and development rate of embryos and larvae of four Antarctic invertebrates	Microsoft Excel (OpenXML)	exists
USAP-DC	Effect of temperature on cleavage rate of Antarctic invertebrates	Microsoft Excel (OpenXML)	exists
USAP-DC	Effect of temperature on oxygen consumption rates of larvae of four Antarctic marine invertebrates	Microsoft Excel (OpenXML)	exists
USAP-DC	Temperature acclimation and acclimatization of sea spider larvae	Microsoft Excel (OpenXML)	exists

1. Woods HA†, Moran AL†, Atkinson D, Audzijonyte A, Berenbrink M, Borges FO, Burnett KG, Burnett LE, Coates CJ, Collin R, Costa-Paiva EM, Duncan MI, Ern R, Laetz EMJ, Levin LA, Lindmark M, Lucey NM, McCormick LR, Pierson JJ, Rosa R, Roman MR, Sampaio E, Schulte PM, Sperling EA, Walczyńska A, Verberk WCEP† (2022). Integrative approaches to understanding organismal responses to aquatic deoxygenation. The Biological Bulletin 243:85-103 (doi:10.1093/icb/icaa088)
2. Kuehu, D. L., Fu, Y., Nasu, M., Yang, H., Khadka, V. S., & Deng, Y. (2024). Use of Microalgae-Derived Astaxanthin to Improve Cytoprotective Capacity in the Ileum of Heat-Induced Oxidative Stressed Broilers. Animals, 14(13), 1932. (doi:10.3390/ani14131932)
3. Kuehu, D. L., Fu, Y., Nasu, M., Yang, H., Khadka, V. S., & Deng, Y. (2024). Effects of Heat-Induced Oxidative Stress and Astaxanthin on the NF-kB, NFE2L2 and PPARα Transcription Factors and Cytoprotective Capacity in the Thymus of Broilers. Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 46(8), 9215–9233. (doi:10.3390/cimb46080544)
4. Moran AL, *Toh MWA, *Lobert GT, *Ely T and Marko PB (2022) Egg masses and larval development of the Antarctic cephalaspidean snail Waegelea antarctica (Cephalaspidea: Antarctophilinidae), with notes on egg masses of the related Antarctophiline alata. Journal of Molluscan Studies 87: eyab027
5. Moran AL, Toh MWA, Lobert GT (2024) Spawning and larval development of Colossendeis megalonyx, a giant Antarctic sea spider. Ecology 105(3), e4258
6. Moran AL, McLachlan RH, Thurber AR (2023) Sea star wasting syndrome reaches the high Antarctic: two recent outbreaks in McMurdo Sound. PLoS One 18:7, e0282550
7. Woods HA†, Moran AL†, Atkinson D, Audzijonyte A, Berenbrink M, Borges FO, Burnett KG, Burnett LE, Coates CJ, Collin R, Costa-Paiva EM, Duncan MI, Ern R, Laetz EMJ, Levin LA, Lindmark M, Lucey NM, McCormick LR, Pierson JJ, Rosa R, Roman MR, Sampaio E, Schulte PM, Sperling EA, Walczyńska A, Verberk WCEP† (2022). Integrative approaches to understanding organismal responses to aquatic deoxygenation. The Biological Bulletin 243:85-103