Fish in hot waters; capacity of fish to respond to climate change

Date and Location
Monday May 24, 2021 10:00am
Zoom

Speaker

Katja Anttila
University of Turku, Finland

Abstract

Climate change and associated heat waves are threatening fish all around the world. One of the main aims of the studies in my research group is to reveal whether or not fish have capacity to respond to these challenges. The capacities are measured from molecular to whole animal level and also the time scale of responses varies from acute responses of individual fish to possible evolutionary potential of species to adapt to climate change. In this research seminar you will hear, for example, how migrating salmonids are able to tolerate high temperatures and have generations long exposure to high temperatures influenced the capacity of fish to respond to heat waves. The heat waves are not, however, threatening only wild fish but also the ones in aquaculture as they do not have capacity to escape warming waters. Our studies also focus on finding ways to possibly increase the capacities of farmed fish to respond to global warming and you will hear what kind of changes e.g. exercise swimming training can induce in fish.