Global biodiversity is declining faster than ever from direct consequences of climate change. The rocky intertidal is one of the most accessible marine coastal environments teeming with an incredibly diverse living community. Because of this unique quality it has immense commercial, recreational, and educational value to communities worldwide. However, this quality also makes these habitats highly susceptible to changing ocean conditions such as sea-level rise, invasive species, and pollution. Monitoring intertidal ecosystems becomes increasingly important as we continue to see global climate changes.

Thermal imaging cameras record infrared radiation (IR) and convert it to a visible image. The primary source of IR is heat or thermal radiation – the warmer something is, the more infrared radiation it emits. Infrared thermography (IRT) is being increasingly utilized by ecologists and physiologists to observe and investigate small-scale thermal variability and thermal stress on the distribution and abundance of marine species.

Students explore how heat transfers between organisms and their environment using a FLIR thermal camera at various marine ecosystems in San Diego (rocky intertidal, sandy seashore, salt marsh). We will relate our data to organismal anatomy, physiology, thermoregulation, species adaptability, ecology, and/or climate change.

Project Lead: Sonya Timko (MS, PhD Student)

Publications: Bravo, M., C.B. Cracamontes, S. Foss, N. Gottlieb, L. Kelly, E. Li, M. Liskov, L. Maschler, P. Randolf, A. Ringler, S. Timko., and N.K. Yen. 2023. Climate Change and its Implications on the Heat Flux of Rocky Intertidal Organisms.  Research Scholars Marine Science Journal, 1(1).

Overfishing has become one of the most significant drivers in the decline of wild fish populations – this compounded with climate-related threats will have potentially detrimental effects on marine ecosystems worldwide. Global fisheries provide a vital economy for many communities, especially in developing nations. The goal of fisheries management is to provide sustainable resources with social, economic, and biological benefits. However, even with well managed fisheries many unreported, illegal, and mislabeled catches threaten the effectiveness of conservation practices.

Seafood is an important protein source worldwide and thus susceptible to a variety of fraudulent practices. Seafood mislabeling is surprisingly common in both domestic and international markets and has long been a known problem worldwide; however difficult to regulate. Past studies using DNA barcoding have reported alarmingly high rates of mislabeling. We are part of a long-term monitoring project of seafood fraud in San Diego Region.

Project Lead: Nicole Yen (MS, MAT); Advisors: Sarah Mesnick (PhD), Mar Mancha-Cisneros (PhD)

Project 1: As climate change and pollution drive changes to the chemical properties of the ocean, the activity of enzymes responsible for the functioning of countless cellular processes are being affected. In the research experience, students will generate their own research question to investigate the impact of environmental changes on bioluminescence. To accomplish this we will focus specifically on the chemical and molecular mechanisms that govern bioluminescence. We will be isolating the genes associated with bioluminescence from Aliivibrio fischeri and transforming them into a model organism, Escherichia coli, to specifically study the enzyme luciferase and the supporting genes needed to express a functional enzyme. Students will then generate their own hypothesis on how changes to the environments where host organisms of A. fischeri live, such as the Hawaiian bobtail squid, could change the catalytic ability of luciferin.

Project 2: As climate change and pollution alter ocean chemistry, they impact enzymes crucial for cellular processes. In this research experience, students will explore how environmental changes affect fluorescence, focusing on the GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) from the bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea victoria. Using the pGLO plasmid, students will transform bacteria to express GFP, causing them to glow green under UV light. Students will investigate the process of DNA > RNA > Protein > Trait and examine how internal and external factors influence gene regulation. They will also hypothesize how environmental changes could affect the expression and activity of fluorescence in marine organisms with GFP-like proteins.

Project Lead: Marc Piercy (PhD)