Climate Change: Fishing for Answers - A Talk by Professor A. P. Farrell

Climate Change: Fishing for Answers

A Talk by Professor A. P. Farrell, PhD., Dir. Fil. h.c., FRC

Tony Farrell holds a Tier I Canada Research Chair in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and in the Department of Zoology at the University of British Columbia, Canada.  His cardiorespiratory research program examines animals whose hearts function without oxygen for days to months, such as primitive hagfish, crucian carp and freshwater turtles, through to polar fishes that sustain a heartbeat at -1^oC.  His discoveries are applied to everyday issues such as fish conservation and aquaculture.

His seminar will focus on the thermal biology of fishes.  Discoveries from his research group will be used to illustrate how the cardiorespiratory athleticism of sockeye salmon, which normally matches the remarkable needs for its once-in-a-lifetime spawning migration up Fraser River, can become lacking for some sockeye populations faced with an unusually warm river.  While some fish populations are clearly threatened by the rise in global temperature, other populations may have a limited potential to adapt. Furthermore, studies of cardiac physiology at supra-optimal temperature suggest that the heart may become a weak link in the supply chain to deliver O₂ to active tissues.  Understanding the basis for the weak link may be advantageous quickly discovering which species threaten our environmental integrity and food security.

http://people.landfood.ubc.ca/anthony.farrell/