Corals light the way to a healthy partnership
Corals know how to attract good company. New research finds that corals emit an enticing fluorescent green light that attracts the mobile microalgae, known as Symbiodinium, that are critical to the e
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Abstract 1: Environmental stress is often met with changes in metabolism to compensate for increased energetic demand. The extent and magnitude of these changes may underpin the success or failure of species to adapt in various environments. Lipid metabolism, in particular is a fundamental component of most living organisms and plays a role in energy homeostasis, molecular signalling, and cell structure. Lipids are a primary form of energy storage for most vertebrates and also fuel the majority of aerobic ATP production to support ATP consuming reactions. The evolution and regulation of lipid metabolism will be discussed with a particular emphasis on development and coping with physiological stresses such as starvation and exercise in a variety of fish species. I propose that fish have a unique metabolic plasticity over other vertebrates, which allows them to thrive under diverse environmental conditions
Biography: Andrea completed her PhD in Comparative Physiology in 2010 at McMaster University, Canada on the evolution and regulation of mitochondrial lipid oxidation. Using a diverse range of fish and mammalian species she identified key regulatory points in the lipid metabolism pathway and how they transformed under a variety of physiological and environmental stresses to enable maximal energetic efficiency. Andrea is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK, and holds a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellowship. Her current research focuses on mitochondrial metabolism and fuel selection during hypoxia in cardiac and skeletal muscle. Andrea’s research uses a range of techniques; from whole animal down to molecular biology and encompasses the fields of physiology, ecology, evolution and health and disease.
Abstract 2: In aquatic species, the heart is extremely temperature sensitive, and often the critical temperature for heart failure (HF) is only a few degrees above species’ upper habitat temperatures (Tmax). Predictions of climate change mediated rises in ocean temperatures also suggest that ectothermic hearts may constrain many marine species distributions. HF at high temperature may result from disrupted ion transport, oxygen and substrate supply disruptions to and from energy supplying mitochondria in cardiac cells. My PhD study targets mitochondria, as damaged mitochondria may increase their reactive species production and trigger apoptosis, or they may fail to produce enough ATP to sustain a heartbeat. Using an endemic New Zealand fish species, Notolabrus celidotus, or “the Spotty”, we assessed cardiac function and determined the THF. We then used high-resolution respirometers to explore temperature-mediated changes in cardiac mitochondrial function and ROS production, and overlaid these changes with that of heart function and THF. Data from my study suggests that mitochondrial function and integrities could play a significant role in thermal stress tolerance and perhaps limit species distributions.
Biography: Fathima did her undergraduate and masters studies at McMaster University, Hamilton ON Canada in Dr. Chris Wood’s lab. She studied ‘the osmorespiratory compromise’ in hypoxia-tolerant and intolerant freshwater fish during her masters. Fathima is currently doing her PhD at the University of Auckland, in Dr. Anthony Hickey’s lab studying the effects of heat stress on heart and mitochondrial failure in marine fish from a climate change perspective.
Corals know how to attract good company. New research finds that corals emit an enticing fluorescent green light that attracts the mobile microalgae, known as Symbiodinium, that are critical to the e
A study led by researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University found fish become anxious and more cautious when water quality is degraded by sediment, an e
Queensland’s coastal shark numbers are continuing a 50-year decline, in sharp contradiction of suggestions of ‘exploding’ shark populations, according to an analysis of Queensland Shark Control
The future of the world’s coral reefs is uncertain, as the impact of global heating continues to escalate. However, according to a study published today in Nature Climate Change, the response of the
Who: Julian Cribb Where: JCU HY002, UQ CMS Meeting Room When: Monday 20 March 2006, 11.00am-12.00pm
The Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowships Program provides financial support for field-intensive coral reef research at Lizard Island Research Station on the Great Barrier Reef by outstanding PhD student
Who: Go Suzuki, Kyoto University Where: ARC Centre of Excellence Conference Room, James Cook University, Townsville with video link to Centre for Marine Studies, UQ, Brisbane When: 1.00pm Monday 23
Who: Lead by Meir Sussman Where: ARC Centre of Excellence Conference Room, JCU, Townsville with video link to Centre for Marine Studies, UQ, Brisbane When: 4.00pm, Thursday 26 April 2007
Dr. Frank Thomalla is a Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) where he leads the Stockholm-based group of the “Risk, Livelihoods and Vulnerability Programme” and at the re
Dr Troy Day is a theoretical evolutionary ecologist at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada (http://www.mast.queensu.ca/~tday/index.html). His primary research interests are in the evolution of in
Who: Lead by Dr Sophie Dove Where: Video link ARC Centre of Excellence Conference Room, JCU, Townsville and Centre for Marine Studies, UQ, Brisbane When: 4.00pm, Thursday 10 May 2007
Who: Lead by Professor Terry Hughes Where: Video link ARC Centre of Excellence Conference Room, JCU, Townsville and JCU Cairns, Room B1.108 When: 12.00pm, Monday 14 May 2007
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au