Arctic Station Dirigibile Italia

Adaptation and long term sensitivity of key Arctic species to anthropogenic and natural disturbance. (ALTERA)

Call year: 2015 Status: active IADC_id: 18

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The research proposal is based on the strong integration of three lines of activity: 1) the characterization of adaptive mechanisms in key species of Arctic marine environment, 2) the evaluation of susceptibility of these species to long-term effects of climate change and anthropogenic disturbance, 3) a strong education and outreach activity based on the proposed activities.rnAntioxidant defences, susceptibility to oxidative stress and peroxisomal-controlled lipid metabolism represent a network of cellular pathways of particular importance for polar organisms considering the extreme environmental conditions, the high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in membranes, the low turnover and repair of cell damages,  and the importance of lipid reserves during the winter season and the reproductive cycle. These responses will be investigated at both transcriptional and catalytic levels in the Arctic scallop Chlamys islandica, sampled from a pristine area. Beside its environmental relevance, the choice of this species will allow a comparative evaluation of the sensitivity of Arctic organisms with ecologically similar bivalves from Antarctic and Mediterranean areas, the scallops Adamussium colbeckii and Chlamys glabra, which are currently investigated in the framework of other projects.rnLaboratory exposures of C. islandica will address the effects of climate change (temperature and acidification) on antioxidant system, peroxisomal proliferation and lipid metabolism, as well as on bioaccumulation and toxic effects of chemical pollutants. Among these, it will be of particular relevance for the Arctic environment, to characterize the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and of their combination with chemical dispersants, which are often proposed as an efficient strategy to counteract accidental oil spill in Arctic regions. Depending on the logistic availabilities, such laboratory exposures might be performed directly at Ny Alesund Station and/or at the Polytechnic University of Marche (Ancona) in which the realization of a small facility with polar aquaria is going to be completed. The latter option, requiring the transportation of live animals to the laboratories of Polytechnic University of Marche will have the advantage to allow the analysis of longer term effects (4-6 months) of natural and anthropogenic stressors, which is a fundamental issue for characterizing the sensitivity of Arctic organisms. rnIn addition, the presence of live Arctic organisms maintained in polar aquaria will have a media-impact in terms of public dissemination and educational programmes with schools, thus contributing to increase the awareness on Arctic environmental issues and the importance of scientific activities supported at the National level. For this last part of the project, beside C. islandica, other typical marine organisms will be sampled and transported live to Italy, including taxa like sponges, anthozoa echinoderms, molluscs etc.rnAll the sampling activities required for this proposal could be performed by scuba diving in the area close to Ny Alesund station or joining cruises and sampling activities of other ongoing projects.rnTransportation of live animals to Italy has already been experimentally tested from Antarctica, and could be realized using a specifically adapted container, truck transportation or air shipping.

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Ongoing national and international cooperation with research projects related to objectives of the present proposal include:rn- PNRA 2013, Project PDR 2013/AZ1.14 “Oxyradical and lipid metabolism in key Antarctic species: adaptation to extreme conditions and responsiveness toward climate change and anthropogenic pressure”. This project has similar aims, i.e. the characterization of sensitivity to natural and anthropogenic disturbance, focussing on key Antarctic bioindicators species. In this respect, the comparison of ecologically similar Arctic and Antarctic organisms might have a great importance to clarify the sensitivity of polar species. Also this project includes the transportation of live animals for both scientific and educational purposes, thus representing another important connection with the present Arctic proposal.rn- Univ. Tromsø/Norway (Dr J. Nahrgang), Univ. Bergen/Norway (Prof A. Goksøyr), NOAA/USA (Dr J. Meador) Univ. Basque Country/Spain (Prof. M.P. Cajaraville) in the framework of the project “Polar cod, lipid metabolism and disruption by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons –POLARISATION” funded by the Norwegian Research Council (2012-2015) for elucidating lipid metabolism, nuclear receptors and oxidative stress in the Arctic polar cod Boreogadus saida in response to chemical pollutants.rn- Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Trondheim/Norway (Prof. A. Arukwe), to investigate the effects of ocean acidification on bioaccumulation of polyfluorinated hydrocarbons on the Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. There is also a long-term scientific collaboration with Prof. Arukwe on mechanisms of transcriptional regulation of oxidative stress genes in marine organisms.rn- Akvaplan-niva AS, Tromsø/Norway (Dr L. Camus), with an active collaboration to investigate responses to chemical pollution by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Arctic organisms.

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Adaptation and long term sensitivity of key Arctic species to anthropogenic and natural disturbance. (ALTERA)