Many organisms live in environments where multiple abiotic factors can change rapidly and simultaneously. Comparative biologists have long recognized that some organisms, typically those from dynamic or fluctuating environments, are simply more resilient and can endure a greater number of stressors varying in severity than organisms from more pristine or stable environments. Most of our understanding of stressor tolerance comes from studies focusing on single environmental variables, however, recently there has shift in mindset to examine how multiple environmental variables interactively influence molecular, biochemical, and physiological pathways.

           We study how animals structure their biological responses to multiple environmental stressors. Our lab is currently focusing on low ambient oxygen (hypoxia), high external ammonia (HEA), and temperature as environmentally relevant stressors that often co-occur in natural aquatic and aquaculture systems. Our research examines the molecular, biochemical, and physiological, and morphological responses in laboratory fish models (e.g. zebrafish, mangrove rivulus), recreational and commercial species (e.g. rainbow trout, salmon), and invertebrates (e.g. aquatic insects, mussels) to enhance our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that drives stressor tolerance and species adaptation to multiple stressors.

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Keywords: Fish Physiology and Biochemistry | Multiple Environmental Stressors | Energy metabolism | Transcriptomics | Stress Physiology | Cross Tolerance | Cross Susceptibility | Hypoxia Adaptation | Ammonia Adaptation | Physiological Plasticity