Bowen Lizabeth, Counihan Katrina L, Ballachey Brenda, Coletti Heather, Hollmen Tuula, Pister Benjamin, Wilson Tammy L
Western Ecological Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Davis, CA, USA.
Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, AK, USA.
PeerJ. 2020 Mar 5;8:e8761. doi: 10.7717/peerj.8761. eCollection 2020.
An emerging approach to ecosystem monitoring involves the use of physiological biomarker analyses in combination with gene transcription assays. For the first time, we employed these tools to evaluate the Pacific razor clam (), which is important both economically and ecologically, as a bioindicator species in the northeast Pacific. Our objectives were to (1) develop biomarker and gene transcription assays with which to monitor the health of the Pacific razor clam, (2) acquire baseline biomarker and gene transcription reference ranges for razor clams, (3) assess the relationship between physiological and gene transcription assays and (4) determine if site-level differences were present. Pacific razor clams were collected in July 2015 and 2016 at three sites within each of two national parks in southcentral Alaska. In addition to determining reference ranges, we found differences in biomarker assay and gene transcription results between parks and sites which indicate variation in both large-scale and local environmental conditions. Our intent is to employ these methods to evaluate Pacific razor clams as a bioindicator of nearshore ecosystem health. Links between the results of the biomarker and gene transcription assays were observed that support the applicability of both assays in ecosystem monitoring. However, we recognize the need for controlled studies to examine the range of responses in physiology and gene transcripts to different stressors.
一种新兴的生态系统监测方法涉及将生理生物标志物分析与基因转录检测相结合。我们首次使用这些工具来评估太平洋剃刀蛤，它在经济和生态方面都很重要，作为东北太平洋的一种生物指示物种。我们的目标是：（1）开发用于监测太平洋剃刀蛤健康状况的生物标志物和基因转录检测方法；（2）获取剃刀蛤的生物标志物和基因转录参考范围基线；（3）评估生理检测和基因转录检测之间的关系；（4）确定是否存在地点水平差异。2015年7月和2016年，在阿拉斯加中南部两个国家公园内的三个地点采集了太平洋剃刀蛤。除了确定参考范围外，我们还发现公园和地点之间的生物标志物检测和基因转录结果存在差异，这表明大规模和局部环境条件都存在变化。我们的目的是采用这些方法来评估太平洋剃刀蛤作为近岸生态系统健康生物指示物的情况。观察到生物标志物检测结果和基因转录检测结果之间的联系，这支持了这两种检测方法在生态系统监测中的适用性。然而，我们认识到需要进行对照研究，以检验生理学和基因转录本对不同应激源的反应范围。
