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Lowell Lecture
Amazing Aquatic Athletes in the Anthropocene
Date & Time
May 11, 2017 at 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Location
New England Aquarium
1 Central Wharf Boston, MA 02110
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
Dr. Jodie Rummer; Associate Professor, Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook Unviersity
Presenting Organization
Topics
Contact
Maggie See (aquariumlectures@neaq.org, 617-973-6596)
Globally, coral reefs are at risk to human-induced stressors – such as ocean warming, acidification, and hypoxia – now more than at any time in recorded history. Dramatic effects on fish performance, distribution, and overall ecosystem health are predicted. While the evolutionary success of fish is credited to their adaptations to challenging environmental conditions, whether they can keep pace with the large-scale, rapid changes plaguing their habitats today is not known. Coral reef fishes may be at greater risk as they diversified during a time of relative stable environmental conditions, and today’s rapidly changing conditions may heighten their vulnerability. Through my research, I am tracking metabolic and swimming performance of fishes under climate change relevant conditions, across development and species, and over multiple generations. This information is crucial for making predictions as to which species and/or populations may be most at risk from climate change and whether the fishes’ long evolutionary history will be enough to protect them from future changes in their habitat.