Our current research with the Antarctic pteropod Limacina helicina antarctica is aimed at understanding their molecular and physiological responses to ocean acidification and ocean warming. We are able to design lab experiments with environmentally relevant parameters using durafet-based pH sensors (SeaFETs) that have been deployed seasonally since 2010. These data have been incorporated into future ocean models allowing us to investigate what impacts the combined stress of ocean acidification and ocean warming will have on the metabolism, gene expression, and shell morphology of these environmentally important marine calcifiers.
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In addition to work on Limacina, another ongoing project aims to measure the physiologic response to environmental change in the larvae of Sterechinus neumayeri, the Antarctic sea urchin. In particular, this research is focused on understanding the emerging response of Antarctic benthic calcifiers to conditions of ocean acidification. This work delves into the physiological mechanisms employed by this highly endemic, benthically abundant, stenothermal echinoid in response to ocean acidification, as well as elevated temperature, and variations in salinity, all factors associated with ocean change.
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