ORCID Profile
0000-0002-8714-5194
Current Organisation
University of Sydney
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Ecological Applications | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Global Change Biology | Biological Adaptation | Environmental Science and Management | Quantitative Genetics (incl. Disease and Trait Mapping Genetics) | Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) | Animal Physiology - Systems | Comparative Physiology | Animal Cell and Molecular Biology | Ecosystem Function | Other Biological Sciences | Aquaculture | Environmental Rehabilitation (excl. Bioremediation) | Ecological Physiology
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Aquaculture Oysters | Rehabilitation of Degraded Coastal and Estuarine Environments | Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Climate Change Adaptation Measures | Coastal and Estuarine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Wild Caught Edible Molluscs | Conserving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage | Living resources (flora and fauna) | Aquaculture | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments |
Related Links
Publications
Egg capsules and larval development ofNassarius burchardi(Philippi, 1849) andNassarius jonasiiDunker, 1846 and comparisons with other Nassariidae (Caenogastropoda)
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 15-09-2014
'Tough love and tears': Learning doctoral writing in the sciences
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 08-2012
Transgenerational responses of molluscs and echinoderms to changing ocean conditions
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-01-2016
Abstract: We are beginning to understand how the larvae of molluscs and echinoderms with complex life cycles will be affected by climate change. Early experiments using short-term exposures suggested that larvae in oceans predicted to increase in acidification and temperature will be smaller in size, take longer to develop, and have a greater incidence of abnormal development. More realistic experiments which factored in the complex life cycles of molluscs and echinoderms found impacts not as severe as predicted. This is because the performance of one life history stage led to a significant carryover effect on the subsequent life history stage. Carryover effects that arise within a generation, for ex le, embryonic and larval stages, can influence juvenile and adult success. Carryover effects can also arise across a generation, known as transgenerational plasticity (TGP). A transgenerational response or TGP can be defined as a phenotypic change in offspring in response to the environmental stress experienced by a parent before fertilization. In the small number of experiments which have measured the transgenerational response of molluscs and echinoderms to elevated CO2, TGP has been observed in the larval offspring. If we are to safeguard ecological and economically significant mollusc and echinoderm species against climate change then we require more knowledge of the impacts that carryover effects have within and across generations as well as an understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for such adaptation.
Can prior exposure to stress enhance resilience to ocean warming in two oyster species?
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 10-04-2020
Microplastics detected in haemolymph of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2019.110537
Abstract: Plastic waste is ubiquitous in marine environments. Despite the sheer volume of plastic waste, it remains relatively unknown how marine invertebrates will interact with microplastics (plastic <1 mm). Microplastics (<2 μm) were ingested by the economically and ecologically significant Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata and translocated to the haemolymph, perhaps via phagocytosis. The presence of microplastics in the haemolymph indicates that filter feeding S. glomerata can ingest and accumulate microplastics which are prevalent in the environment. This research shows microplastics can enter marine molluscs and highlights the need to monitor microplastics in the marine environment and aquaculture to safeguard the seafood industry.
Climate change rapidly warms and acidifies Australian estuaries
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-04-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-020-15550-Z
Abstract: Climate change is impacting ecosystems worldwide. Estuaries are erse and important aquatic ecosystems and yet until now we have lacked information on the response of estuaries to climate change. Here we present data from a twelve-year monitoring program, involving 6200 observations of 166 estuaries along kilometres of the Australian coastline encompassing all estuary morphologies. Estuary temperatures increased by 2.16 °C on average over 12 years, at a rate of 0.2 °C year −1 , with waters acidifying at a rate of 0.09 pH units and freshening at 0.086 PSU year −1 . The response of estuaries to climate change is dependent on their morphology. Lagoons and rivers are warming and acidifying at the fastest rate because of shallow average depths and limited oceanic exchange. The changes measured are an order of magnitude faster than predicted by global ocean and atmospheric models, indicating that existing global models may not be useful to predict change in estuaries.
Modelling Photosynthesis to Increase Conceptual Understanding
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2006
Transcriptomic profiling of adaptive responses to ocean acidification.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.14333
Abstract: Some populations of marine organisms appear to have inherent tolerance or the capacity for acclimation to stressful environmental conditions, including those associated with climate change. Sydney rock oysters from the B2 breeding line exhibit resilience to ocean acidification (OA) at the physiological level. To understand the molecular basis of this physiological resilience, we analysed the gill transcriptome of B2 oysters that had been exposed to near-future projected ocean pH over two consecutive generations. Our results suggest that the distinctive performance of B2 oysters in the face of OA is mediated by the selective expression of genes involved in multiple cellular processes. Subsequent high-throughput qPCR revealed that some of these transcriptional changes are exclusive to B2 oysters and so may be associated with their resilience to OA. The intracellular processes mediated by the differentially abundant genes primarily involve control of the cell cycle and maintenance of cellular homeostasis. These changes may enable B2 oysters to prevent apoptosis resulting from oxidative damage or to alleviate the effects of apoptosis through regulation of the cell cycle. Comparative analysis of the OA conditioning effects across sequential generations supported the contention that B2 and wild-type oysters have different trajectories of changing gene expression and responding to OA. Our findings reveal the broad set of molecular processes underlying transgenerational conditioning and potential resilience to OA in a marine calcifier. Identifying the mechanisms of stress resilience can uncover the intracellular basis for these organisms to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing ocean.
Student responses to creative coding in biomedical science education
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-11-2022
DOI: 10.1002/BMB.21692
Abstract: Biomedical science students need to learn to code. Graduates face a future where they will be better prepared for research higher degrees and the workforce if they can code. Embedding coding in a biomedical curriculum comes with challenges. First, biomedical science students often experience anxiety learning quantitative and computational thinking skills and second biomedical faculty often lack expertise required to teach coding. In this study, we describe a creative coding approach to building coding skills in students using the packages of Processing and Arduino. Biomedical science students were taught by an interdisciplinary faculty team from Medicine and Health, Science and Architecture, Design and Planning. We describe quantitative and qualitative responses of students to this approach. Cluster analysis revealed a ersity of student responses, with a large majority of students who supported creative coding in the curriculum, a smaller but vocal cluster, who did not support creative coding because either the exercises were not sufficiently challenging or were too challenging and believed coding should not be in a Biomedical Science curriculum. We describe how two creative coding platforms, Processing and Arduino, embedded and used to visualize human physiological data, and provide responses to students, including those minority of students, who are opposed to coding in the curriculum This study found a variety of students responses in a final year capstone course of an undergraduate Biomedical Science degree where future pathways for students are either in research higher degrees or to the workforce with a future which will be increasingly data driven.
Mixed effects of elevated pCO2 on fertilisation, larval and juvenile development and adult responses in the mobile subtidal scallop Mimachlamys asperrima (Lamarck, 1819)
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-04-2014
Adult exposure influences offspring response to ocean acidification in oysters
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-10-2011
Adult exposure to ocean acidification and warming leads to limited beneficial responses for oyster larvae
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-06-2021
Abstract: There is a need to understand the responses of marine molluscs in this era of rapid climate change. Transgenerational plasticity that results in resilient offspring provides a mechanism for rapid acclimation of marine organisms to climate change. This study tested the hypothesis that adult parental exposure to elevated pCO2 and warming will have transgenerational benefits for offspring in the oysters Saccostrea glomerata and Crassostrea gigas. Adult S. glomerata and C. gigas were exposed to orthogonal treatments of ambient and elevated pCO2, and ambient and elevated temperature for 8 weeks. Gametes were collected and fertilized, larvae were then reared for 9 days under ambient and elevated pCO2. Egg lipidome and larval morphology and lipidome were measured. Parental exposure to warming and elevated pCO2 led to limited beneficial transgenerational responses for eggs and larvae of S. glomerata and C. gigas. Overall, larvae of S. glomerata were more sensitive than C. gigas, and both species had some capacity for transgenerational plasticity. This study supports the idea that transgenerational plasticity acts as an acclimatory mechanism for marine organisms to cope with the stress of climate change, but there are limitations, and it may not be a panacea or act equally in different species.
Sensitivity to ocean acidification differs between populations of the Sydney rock oyster: Role of filtration and ion-regulatory capacities
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARENVRES.2017.12.017
Abstract: Understanding mechanisms of intraspecific variation in resilience to environmental drivers is key to predict species' adaptive potential. Recent studies show a higher CO
The proteomic response of larvae of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata to elevatedpCO2
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2011.056
Intertidal oysters reach their physiological limit in a future high-CO2 world
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 03-2017
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.151365
Abstract: Sessile marine molluscs living in the intertidal zone experience periods of internal acidosis when exposed to air (emersion) during low tide. Relative to other marine organisms, molluscs have been identified as vulnerable to future ocean acidification however, paradoxically it has also been shown that molluscs exposed to high CO2 environments are more resilient compared with those molluscs naive to CO2 exposure. Two competing hypotheses were tested using a novel experimental design incorporating tidal simulations to predict the future intertidal limit of oysters in a high-CO2 world either high-shore oysters will be more tolerant of elevated PCO2 because of their regular acidosis, or elevated PCO2 will cause high-shore oysters to reach their limit. Sydney rock oysters, Saccostrea glomerata, were collected from the high-intertidal and subtidal areas of the shore and exposed in an orthogonal design to either an intertidal or a subtidal treatment at ambient or elevated PCO2, and physiological variables were measured. The combined treatment of tidal emersion and elevated PCO2 interacted synergistically to reduce the haemolymph pH (pHe) of oysters, and increase the PCO2 in the haemolymph (Pe,CO2) and standard metabolic rate. Oysters in the intertidal treatment also had lower condition and growth. Oysters showed a high degree of plasticity, and little evidence was found that intertidal oysters were more resilient than subtidal oysters. It is concluded that in a high-CO2 world the upper vertical limit of oyster distribution on the shore may be reduced. These results suggest that previous studies on intertidal organisms that lacked tidal simulations may have underestimated the effects of elevated PCO2.
Rapid transcriptional acclimation following transgenerational exposure of oysters to ocean acidification.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-09-2016
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.13808
Abstract: Marine organisms need to adapt in order to cope with the adverse effects of ocean acidification and warming. Transgenerational exposure to CO2 stress has been shown to enhance resilience to ocean acidification in offspring from a number of species. However, the molecular basis underlying such adaptive responses is currently unknown. Here, we compared the transcriptional profiles of two genetically distinct oyster breeding lines following transgenerational exposure to elevated CO2 in order to explore the molecular basis of acclimation or adaptation to ocean acidification in these organisms. The expression of key target genes associated with antioxidant defence, metabolism and the cytoskeleton was assessed in oysters exposed to elevated CO2 over three consecutive generations. This set of target genes was chosen specifically to test whether altered responsiveness of intracellular stress mechanisms contributes to the differential acclimation of oyster populations to climate stressors. Transgenerational exposure to elevated CO2 resulted in changes to both basal and inducible expression of those key target genes (e.g. ecSOD, catalase and peroxiredoxin 6), particularly in oysters derived from the disease-resistant, fast-growing B2 line. Exposure to CO2 stress over consecutive generations produced opposite and less evident effects on transcription in a second population that was derived from wild-type (nonselected) oysters. The analysis of key target genes revealed that the acute responses of oysters to CO2 stress appear to be affected by population-specific genetic and/or phenotypic traits and by the CO2 conditions to which their parents had been exposed. This supports the contention that the capacity for heritable change in response to ocean acidification varies between oyster breeding lines and is mediated by parental conditioning.
Edge effects and patch size in seagrass landscapes: an experimental test using fish
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 18-08-2006
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS319093
Ocean acidification affects both the predator and prey to alter interactions between the oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) and the whelk Tenguella marginalba (Blainville, 1832)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-02-2018
Larval supply, settlement and survival of barnacles in a temperate mangrove forest
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 2001
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS215237
Impact of fire and the recovery of molluscs in south‐east Australian salt marsh
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2019
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12374
Extending conservation of coastal and oyster reef restoration for First Nations cultural revitalization.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-09-2023
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.14158
Oysters as habitat for limpets in a temperate mangrove forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-1999
Effects of multiple climate change stressors: ocean acidification interacts with warming, hyposalinity, and low food supply on the larvae of the brooding flat oyster Ostrea angasi
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-04-2016
Differential proteomic responses of selectively bred and wild‐type Sydney rock oyster populations exposed to elevated CO 2
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2015
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.13111
Abstract: Previous work suggests that larvae from Sydney rock oysters that have been selectively bred for fast growth and disease resistance are more resilient to the impacts of ocean acidification than nonselected, wild-type oysters. In this study, we used proteomics to investigate the molecular differences between oyster populations in adult Sydney rock oysters and to identify whether these form the basis for observations seen in larvae. Adult oysters from a selective breeding line (B2) and nonselected wild types (WT) were exposed for 4 weeks to elevated pCO2 (856 μatm) before their proteomes were compared to those of oysters held under ambient conditions (375 μatm pCO2 ). Exposure to elevated pCO2 resulted in substantial changes in the proteomes of oysters from both the selectively bred and wild-type populations. When biological functions were assigned, these differential proteins fell into five broad, potentially interrelated categories of subcellular functions, in both oyster populations. These functional categories were energy production, cellular stress responses, the cytoskeleton, protein synthesis and cell signalling. In the wild-type population, proteins were predominantly upregulated. However, unexpectedly, these cellular systems were downregulated in the selectively bred oyster population, indicating cellular dysfunction. We argue that this reflects a trade-off, whereby an adaptive capacity for enhanced mitochondrial energy production in the selectively bred population may help to protect larvae from the effects of elevated CO2 , whilst being deleterious to adult oysters.
Larval energetics of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata and Pacific oyster Magallana gigas
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 10-12-2020
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS13538
Abstract: Larvae are a critical dispersal stage of marine invertebrates, and their survival depends on nutrition and energetics. This study compared the size, survival, metabolic rate and egg and larval lipid class profiles of larvae of the endemic Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata and the invasive Pacific oyster Magallana gigas through a period of starvation for 5 and 9 d after fertilisation. Starved larvae grew without food until 5 d of age, at which point they stopped developing, but resumed growth when fed. Egg lipids profiles comprised 78.1 and 74.5% triacylglycerol for M. gigas and S. glomerata respectively. When fed, larvae of M. gigas were significantly larger in size and had faster growth and similar survival compared to S. glomerata . When starved, larvae of M. gigas and S. glomerata grew at similar rates, and there was a trend for lower survival of M. gigas . Larval endogenous lipid reserves were deleted in the first 24 h. Larvae of M. gigas had more total lipids and comparatively more diacylglycerols, monoacylglycerols, phospholipids and cholesterol, whereas S. glomerata had more diacylglycerols and produced sterol esters. Starvation altered the patterns of lipid assimilation, and metabolic rates of larvae of M. gigas and S. glomerata differed over time. When starved, S. glomerata larvae had greater capacity to cope with starvation compared to M. gigas , perhaps due to an evolutionary history in oligotrophic estuaries. As the climate rapidly changes in this global climate-change hotspot, S. glomerata is likely to be negatively affected.
Ecological genetics of the barnacle, Hexaminius foliorum , within mangrove forests near Sydney, Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-2003
Climate change alters the haemolymph microbiome of oysters
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Heatwaves alter survival of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2020
Impacts of ocean acidification on marine shelled molluscs
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-04-2013
Populations of Pacific Oysters Crassostrea gigas Respond Variably to Elevated CO2 and Predation by Morula marginalba
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 06-2014
A Key for the Identification of the Nauplii of Common Barnacles of the British Isles, with Emphasis on Chthamalus
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2003
Deficit and decline in Australian science; when shall we learn?
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2016.006
Quantifying abundance and distribution of native and invasive oysters in an urbanised estuary
Publisher: Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre Oy (REABIC)
Date: 2016
Adult exposure to ocean acidification is maladaptive for larvae of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata in the presence of multiple stressors
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 02-2017
Abstract: Parental effects passed from adults to their offspring have been identified as a source of rapid acclimation that may allow marine populations to persist as our surface oceans continue to decrease in pH. Little is known, however, whether parental effects are beneficial for offspring in the presence of multiple stressors. We exposed adults of the oyster Saccostrea glomerata to elevated CO 2 and examined the impacts of elevated CO 2 (control = 392 856 µatm) combined with elevated temperature (control = 24 28°C), reduced salinity (control = 35 25) and reduced food concentration (control = full half diet) on their larvae. Adult exposure to elevated CO 2 had a positive impact on larvae reared at elevated CO 2 as a sole stressor, which were 8% larger and developed faster at elevated CO 2 compared with larvae from adults exposed to ambient CO 2 . These larvae, however, had significantly reduced survival in all multistressor treatments. This was particularly evident for larvae reared at elevated CO 2 combined with elevated temperature or reduced food concentration, with no larvae surviving in some treatment combinations. Larvae from CO 2 -exposed adults had a higher standard metabolic rate. Our results provide evidence that parental exposure to ocean acidification may be maladaptive when larvae experience multiple stressors.
Increasing Conceptual Understanding of Glycolysis & the Krebs Cycle Using Role-Play
Publisher: University of California Press
Date: 03-2008
Adult exposure to the synthetic hormone 17α-ethynylestradiol affects offspring of the gastropods Nassarius burchardi and Nassarius jonasii
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.ECOENV.2013.12.032
Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine whether adult exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds affects offspring using trans-generational testing. Adult estuarine dwelling gastropods Nassarius burchardi and Nassarius jonasii were exposed to the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) to determine the effects on the development and survival of their offspring. Adults were maintained in synthetic seawater controls and EE2 treatments (0.005, 0.05, 0.5, 50µg/L) over a sixteen week period. Egg capsules were collected from the adults following four, ten and sixteen weeks of adult exposure and transferred to different EE2 exposure scenarios. Treatment concentrations were selected to represent changes in EE2 exposure that could occur over different periods in an organism's lifecycle. Egg capsules laid by adults were therefore transferred to control or EE2 treatments (0.005, 0.05, 0.5, 5, 50, 500µg/L) to develop until hatching. The percentage of egg capsules with unviable eggs and abnormalities, number of days for hatching to occur and hatching success were measured. The veliger larvae that hatched from egg capsules following two, eight and fourteen weeks of adult exposure to EE2 and controls were used in 96h acute toxicity tests with controls and EE2 treatments at concentrations of 0.5, 5, 50, 500, 1250, 2500, 4000µg/L. Exposure of adult N. burchardi and N. jonasii to EE2 affected the percentage of egg capsules with unviable eggs, the development and hatching success of embryos and survival of veligers. These toxicity tests produced a complex set of results with different responses in developing eggs and veliger larvae to the adult EE2 treatments and length of adult exposure. This study demonstrates the importance of trans-generational testing and adult exposure scenarios in toxicity investigations.
The distribution and abundance of barnacles in a mangrove forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-1997
Copper and ocean acidification interact to lower maternal investment, but have little effect on adult physiology of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.AQUATOX.2018.07.020
Abstract: It remains unknown how molluscs will respond to oceans which are increasingly predicted to be warmer, more acidic, and heavily polluted. Ocean acidification and trace metals will likely interact to increase the energy demands of marine organisms, especially oysters. This study tested the interactive effect of exposure to elevated pCO
The Impact of Ocean Acidification on Reproduction, Early Development and Settlement of Marine Organisms
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-11-2011
DOI: 10.3390/W3041005
Fish assemblages in seagrass beds are influenced by the proximity of mangrove forests
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-2006
Comparing the effect of elevated pCO2 and temperature on the fertilization and early development of two species of oysters
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-07-2010
Restoring the flat oyster Ostrea angasi in the face of a changing climate
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 29-08-2019
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS13047
An idea to explore: Interdisciplinary capstone courses in biomedical and life science education
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-10-2022
DOI: 10.1002/BMB.21673
Abstract: While biomedical and life science research have embraced interdisciplinarity as the means to solving pressing 21st century complex challenges, interdisciplinarity in undergraduate education has been more difficult to implement. As a consequence, disciplinary rather than interdisciplinary capstones have become ubiquitous. Disciplinary capstones are valuable for students because they enable them to integrate knowledge and skills within the discipline, but they are also limiting because the integration is within rather than across disciplines. In contrast to a capstone, which involves a single discipline, interdisciplinary capstones require two or more disciplines to combine and integrate across disciplinary boundaries. Interdisciplinarity, where two of more disciplines come together, is difficult to implement in the biomedical and life science curricula because student majors and finances are administered in ways, which reinforce institutional organization of schools and faculties and prevent collaboration. Here in this “idea to explore” we provide an interdisciplinary capstone model where students enroll in disciplinary courses, but then these disciplinary courses and students collaborate on interdisciplinary real‐world problems. This interdisciplinary capstone model was implemented across two erse and large biomedical and life science schools within two faculties in a research intensive, metropolitan university. This approach allows for integration of the biomedical, social and ethical perspectives required when solving problems in the real world, such as COVID‐19. Interdisciplinary learning also better prepares students for higher degree research and future careers. Overcoming disciplinary curriculum silos and faculty barriers is critical if we are to meet expectations of acquiring interdisciplinarity as a key competency.
Predation by the endemic whelk Tenguella marginalba (Blainville, 1832) on the invasive Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793)
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-02-2018
Can early exposure to stress enhance resilience to ocean warming in two oyster species?
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 21-01-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.01.21.913715
Abstract: Securing economically and ecologically significant molluscs, as our oceans warm and acidify due to climate change, is a global priority. South eastern Australia receives warm water in a strengthening East Australia Current and so resident species are vulnerable to elevated temperature and marine heat waves. This study tested whether oysters pre exposed to elevated temperature or heat stress enhances resilience to ocean warming later in life. Two Australian species, the flat oyster, Ostrea angasi, and the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata , were given a mild dose of warm water or “heat shock” stress in the laboratory and then transferred to elevated temperature conditions where we used the thermal outfall from power generation as a proxy to investigate the impacts of ocean warming. Shell growth, condition index, lipid content and profile and survival of oysters was impacted by elevated temperature in the field, with flat oysters being more impacted than Sydney rock oysters. Flat oysters grew faster than Sydney rock oysters at ambient temperature, but were more sensitive to elevated temperature. Early exposure to heat stress did little to ameliorate the negative effects of increased temperature, although the survival of heat shocked flat oysters was greater than non-heat shocked oysters. Further investigations are required to determine if early exposure to heat stress can act to inoculate oysters to future stress and overall enhance resilience of oysters to ocean warming.
Understanding STEM academics’ responses and resilience to educational reform of academic roles in higher education
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-01-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S40594-022-00327-1
Abstract: Across the globe, there have been significant reforms to improve STEM education at all levels. A significant part of this has been teacher reform. While the responses and resilience of STEM teachers to educational reforms in secondary education have received significant attention, the responses and resilience of STEM teachers in higher education remains understudied. In higher education, educational reforms of academic roles have seen increasing numbers of STEM academics focussed on education. Responses of STEM academics to education reform of the academic role have some parallels with teacher resilience, but there are also potential misalignments within a culture which values and prioritises science disciplinary research. This study examined the responses of STEM academics in higher education to educational reform of the academic role using the theoretical construct of resilience and Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model. This was a 2-year case study of 32 academics and senior educational leaders in higher education in STEM. Data collection included semi-structured interviews which were theme coded and inductively analysed. The responses and resilience of STEM academics focussed on education appeared to be dependent on interactions between in idual disposition in the microsystem and influences of the exosystem and the external macrosystem. Five major themes emerged about the value and quality, scholarship and expertise, progress and mobility, status and identity and community and culture of STEM academics focussed on education. The exosystem was a significant unidirectional influence on STEM academics where judgements were made concerning academic performance, awards, and promotion. Responses of senior leaders in the exosystem were influenced by the macrosystem and culture of science. Academics focussed on research, rather than education were more valued and more likely to be both financially rewarded and promoted. During this pressured decade, where COVID-19 has intensified stress, more attention on the direction and reciprocal relationships in the socio-ecological model of higher education is needed in order for educational reform in higher education STEM to be effective. Resilience of STEM academics to educational reform in higher education is a dynamic quality, and the capacity to “bounce back”, learn from challenges, and realise expectations of educational reform will depend on an understanding of resilience and support of Bronfenbrenner’s spheres of influence.
The relevance of the term ‘misconception’
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-1994
DOI: 10.1007/BF02356370
Life sciences in virtual reality
Publisher: ACM
Date: 04-12-2018
Ocean acidification but not warming alters sex determination in the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 14-02-2018
Abstract: Whether sex determination of marine organisms can be altered by ocean acidification and warming during this century remains a significant, unanswered question. Here, we show that exposure of the protandric hermaphrodite oyster, Saccostrea glomerata to ocean acidification, but not warming, alters sex determination resulting in changes in sex ratios. After just one reproductive cycle there were 16% more females than males. The rate of gametogenesis, gonad area, fecundity, shell length, extracellular pH and survival decreased in response to ocean acidification. Warming as a sole stressor slightly increased the rate of gametogenesis, gonad area and fecundity, but this increase was masked by the impact of ocean acidification at a level predicted for this century. Alterations to sex determination, sex ratios and reproductive capacity will have flow on effects to reduce larval supply and population size of oysters and potentially other marine organisms.
Predicting the Response of Molluscs to the Impact of Ocean Acidification
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 02-04-2013
Differences in morphology and reproduction of the barnacles Elminius covertus and Hexaminius spp. from mangrove forests in the Sydney region of New South Wales
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1996
DOI: 10.1071/MF9960715
Abstract: E. covertus is found on bark and leaves of the grey mangrove Avicennia marina, H. foliorum is found on leaves and H. popeiana is found on bark. 7655 barnacles were collected from two sites at Woolooware Bay from winter 1987 to summer 1989. Reproductive and external features in E. covertus differed depending on the substratum on which it lived reproductive output was greater on leaves than on bark. The genus Hexaminius has been classified elsewhere as two species on the basis of external features and reproductive differences of adults, larval development and larval setation however, the adults were living on different substrata. A detailed study of larval and juvenile stages of Hexaminius in the field showed no differences in external features until juveniles were one month old and no differences in the time taken to rear cyprid larvae. This suggests that Hexaminius should not continue to be ided into two species.
Persistence of Positive Carryover Effects in the Oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, following Transgenerational Exposure to Ocean Acidification
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 06-07-2015
Rational curriculum processes: revising learning outcomes is essential yet insufficient for a twenty-first century science curriculum
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-07-2019
Limitations of cross- and multigenerational plasticity for marine invertebrates faced with global climate change
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-12-2020
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.14882
Abstract: Although cross generation (CGP) and multigenerational (MGP) plasticity have been identified as mechanisms of acclimation to global change, the weight of evidence indicates that parental conditioning over generations is not a panacea to rescue stress sensitivity in offspring. For many species, there were no benefits of parental conditioning. Even when improved performance was observed, this waned over time within a generation or across generations and fitness declined. CGP and MGP studies identified resilient species with stress tolerant genotypes in wild populations and selected family lines. Several bivalves possess favourable stress tolerance and phenotypically plastic traits potentially associated with genetic adaptation to life in habitats where they routinely experience temperature and/or acidification stress. These traits will be important to help ‘climate proof’ shellfish ventures. Species that are naturally stress tolerant and those that naturally experience a broad range of environmental conditions are good candidates to provide insights into the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in CGP and MGP. It is challenging to conduct ecologically relevant global change experiments over the long times commensurate with the pace of changing climate. As a result, many studies present stressors in a shock‐type exposure at rates much faster than projected scenarios. With more gradual stressor introduction over longer experimental durations and in context with conditions species are currently acclimatized and/or adapted to, the outcomes for sensitive species might differ. We highlight the importance to understand primordial germ cell development and the timing of gametogenesis with respect to stressor exposure. Although multigenerational exposure to global change stressors currently appears limited as a universal tool to rescue species in the face of changing climate, natural proxies of future conditions (upwelling zones, CO 2 vents, naturally warm habitats) show that phenotypic adjustment and/or beneficial genetic selection is possible for some species, indicating complex plasticity–adaptation interactions.
Macrofaunal Loss and Microhabitat Destruction: The Impact of Trampling in a Temperate Mangrove Forest, NSW Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-2006
Patterns of small fish distributions in seagrass beds in a temperate Australian estuary
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 10-2007
DOI: 10.1017/S0025315407053283
Abstract: Beds of the seagrass Zostera capricorni are an integral part of the estuarine landscape along the east coast of Australia, forming an important habitat for juvenile fish. Seagrass beds can vary in their size, shape and patchiness of seagrass cover as well as their distance from the estuary mouth. We tested for a correlation between these features and small fish assemblages in seagrass. Fifteen beds were selected from three size-categories (small, 980 to 2300 m 2 medium, 3375 to 4090 m 2 and large, 5335 to 6630 m 2 ). We found that the size of beds, the patchiness of seagrass cover and location within the estuary (distance from estuary mouth) were all related to differences in fish assemblages. There were greater densities of fish species in small (10.3 ±0.79 species .net -1 ) compared to medium (7.6 ±0.6) and large (8.2 ±0.5) beds. This occurred regardless of bed placement within the estuary, its patchiness or time of s ling (day and night). The fish assemblages within seagrass beds also changed as bed distance to estuary mouth increased. Six species had greater densities in beds closer to the estuary mouth, while only two species were in greater densities far from the mouth. Fish assemblages were different between beds with patchy and continuous cover, although total densities of all fish species combined were similar. There were greater densities of four species in continuous beds compared to two species that were greater in patchy beds. Overall, an important finding was that even small patchy seagrass beds contain greater densities of small fish species than larger beds with continuous seagrass cover.
Stress adaptation and resilience of academics in higher education
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-02-2023
DOI: 10.1007/S12564-023-09829-1
Abstract: Academics in higher education around the world indicate high levels of stress from multiple sources. The COVID-19 pandemic has only served to intensify stress levels. Adaptation and resilience are needed if academics, particularly those focused on education and teaching, are to endure, learn, and bounce back during this era of stress and contribute to education quality and student learning. This review is organized to answer two key questions. First, what are the main forms of stress for academics, especially those focused on education and teaching? Second, what are the responses of academics to stress and is the concept of resilience relevant to understand the consequences for academic careers oriented toward education and education quality? To answer these questions, we first critically review the literature on the responses of academics to stress and the concept of resilience, which has been employed by multiple disciplines, including teacher education. We then broadly define the resilience of academics as their capacity to learn from and adapt to stress our definition is perhaps less about in idual personality characteristics and more associated with the relational aspect of the socioecological higher education ecosystem. There are, however, limits to resilience and its potential effects on education quality and student learning. Given higher education’s adverse operating environment and the significant contributions of academics to the knowledge economy and graduate quality, understanding and building the resilience of academics to adapt and succeed has never been more critical.
Adult exposure to ocean acidification and warming remains beneficial for oyster larvae following starvation
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-04-2021
Abstract: Climate change is expected to warm and acidify oceans and alter the phenology of phytoplankton, creating a mismatch between larvae and their food. Transgenerational plasticity (TGP) may allow marine species to acclimate to climate change however, it is expected that this may come with elevated energetic demands. This study used the oysters, Saccostrea glomerata and Crassostrea gigas, to test the effects of adult parental exposure to elevated pCO2 and temperature on larvae during starvation and recovery. It was anticipated that beneficial effects of TGP will be limited when larvae oyster are starved. Transgenerational responses and lipid reserves of larvae were measured for 2 weeks. Larvae of C. gigas and S. glomerata from parents exposed to elevated pCO2 had greater survival when exposed to elevated CO2, but this differed between species and temperature. For S. glomerata, survival of larvae was greatest when the conditions experienced by larvae matched the condition of their parents. For C. gigas, survival of larvae was greater when parents and larvae were exposed to elevated pCO2. Larvae of both species used lipids when starved. The total lipid content was dependent on parental exposure and temperature. Against expectations, the beneficial TGP responses of larvae remained, despite starvation.
Larval ecology in the face of changing climate—impacts of ocean warming and ocean acidification
Publisher: Oxford University PressOxford
Date: 10-09-2008
DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780198786962.003.0017
Abstract: Ocean warming and acidification are major climate change stressors for marine invertebrate larvae, and their impacts differ between habitats and regions. In many regions species with pelagic propagules are on the move, exhibiting poleward trends as temperatures rise and ocean currents change. Larval sensitivity to warming varies among species, influencing their invasive potential. Broadly distributed species with wide developmental thermotolerances appear best able to avail of the new opportunities provided by warming. Ocean acidification is a multi-stressor in itself and the impacts of its covarying stressors differ among taxa. Increased pCO2 is the key stressor impairing calcification in echinoid larvae while decreased mineral saturation is more important for calcification in bivalve larvae. Non-feeding, non-calcifying larvae appear more resilient to warming and acidification. Some species may be able to persist through acclimatization/adaptation to produce resilient offspring. Understanding the capacity for adaptation/acclimatization across generations is important to predicting the future species composition of marine communities.
Predicting biodiversity changes due to loss of bioengineers from an intertidal landscape, a case study from Sydney Harbour
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2015.034
Microbiome response differs among selected lines of Sydney rock oysters to ocean warming and acidification
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 30-06-2021
Abstract: Oyster microbiomes are integral to healthy function and can be altered by climate change conditions. Genetic variation among oysters is known to influence the response of oysters to climate change and may ameliorate any adverse effects on oyster microbiome however, this remains unstudied. Nine full-sibling selected breeding lines of the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) were exposed to predicted warming (ambient = 24°C, elevated = 28°C) and ocean acidification (ambient pCO2 = 400, elevated pCO2 = 1000 µatm) for 4 weeks. The haemolymph bacterial microbiome was characterized using 16S rRNA (V3–V4) gene sequencing and varied among oyster lines in the control (ambient pCO2, 24°C) treatment. Microbiomes were also altered by climate change dependent on oyster lines. Bacterial α- ersity increased in response to elevated pCO2 in two selected lines, while bacterial β- ersity was significantly altered by combinations of elevated pCO2 and temperature in four selected lines. Climate change treatments caused shifts in the abundance of multiple licon sequence variants driving change in the microbiome of some selected lines. We show that oyster genetic background may influence the Sydney rock oyster haemolymph microbiome under climate change and that future assisted evolution breeding programs to enhance resilience should consider the oyster microbiome.
Climate Change and Intertidal Wetlands
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-03-2013
Populations of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, vary in response to ocean acidification
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-12-2010
The effect of ocean acidification and temperature on the fertilization and embryonic development of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata (Gould 1850)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-08-2009
Ocean acidification narrows the acute thermal and salinity tolerance of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2017.06.052
Abstract: Coastal and estuarine environments are characterised by acute changes in temperature and salinity. Organisms living within these environments are adapted to withstand such changes, yet near-future ocean acidification (OA) may challenge their physiological capacity to respond. We tested the impact of CO
Mine Waste and Acute Warming Induce Energetic Stress in the Deep-Sea Sponge Geodia atlantica and Coral Primnoa resedeaformis; Results From a Mesocosm Study
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 12-04-2018
Related Organisations
Related Funding Activities
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI100100158
Start Date: 07-2010
End Date: 11-2012
Amount: $199,988.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Indigenous - Grant ID: IN220100054
Start Date: 05-2023
End Date: 05-2026
Amount: $541,352.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Indigenous - Grant ID: IN190100051
Start Date: 06-2020
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $534,254.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Indigenous - Grant ID: IN140100025
Start Date: 09-2014
End Date: 06-2018
Amount: $593,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP180100732
Start Date: 03-2020
End Date: 09-2023
Amount: $330,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP120101946
Start Date: 03-2012
End Date: 06-2017
Amount: $285,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity