What is this project about?
Ocean warming and acidification are main threats to our seas. Warming reduces the quality of the food used by marine vegetarians (called grazers or herbivores), by decreasing important omega fatty acids, needed for plankton growth, survival and reproduction. We study the offshore plankton community and measure how their lipids (i.e., fats) change due to rising temperature and alkalinity.
Upcoming studies
We sample zooplankton along a gradient in the eastern Pacific Ocean in 2026. Furthermore, we will investigate energy content, gene expression and cell damage of key species during long-term exposure in an underwater CO2 venting source in Greece in 2025-2027. We will also perform experiments with natural plankton exposed to higher temperature and carbonate addition at Tvärminne Zoological Station in 2025. Carbonate in the aquatic environment improves the carbon sink and reduces eutrophication. This project will significantly increase our understanding of the effects of climate change on marine fauna in the field.
Who are we?
The team currently consists of two PhD students Andriana Koutsandrea and Henna Yliluikki, and the project PI Jonna Engström-Öst. Main collaborators are Katja Anttila (University of Turku) and Soultana Zervoudaki (Hellenic Centre for Marine Research).... more to be added...
Funding
This Academy project Losing weight? Eco-physiology and transcriptomics reveal climate forcing on lipid profiles and adaptation in marine biota is funded by the Research Council of Finland 2024-2028. Other funders are Svenska kulturfonden and Waldemar von Frenckells stiftelse.