Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway.
Akvaplan-Niva, Fram Centre, 9296, Tromsø, Norway.
Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 16;11(1):8410. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-87932-2.
Climate change, along with environmental pollution, can act synergistically on an organism to amplify adverse effects of exposure. The Arctic is undergoing profound climatic change and an increase in human activity, resulting in a heightened risk of accidental oil spills. Embryos and larvae of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), a key Arctic forage fish species, were exposed to low levels of crude oil concurrently with a 2.3 °C increase in water temperature. Here we show synergistic adverse effects of increased temperature and crude oil exposure on early life stages documented by an increased prevalence of malformations and mortality in exposed larvae. The combined effects of these stressors were most prevalent in the first feeding larval stages despite embryonic exposure, highlighting potential long-term consequences of exposure for survival, growth, and reproduction. Our findings suggest that a warmer Arctic with greater human activity will adversely impact early life stages of this circumpolar forage fish.
气候变化与环境污染可能会协同作用于生物体，放大暴露的不利影响。北极地区正在经历深刻的气候变化和人类活动的增加，这导致了意外石油泄漏的风险增加。极地鳕鱼（Boreogadus saida）的胚胎和幼鱼是北极地区的关键饲料鱼类物种，它们同时暴露在低水平的原油和 2.3°C 的水温升高环境中。在这里，我们通过暴露的幼虫畸形和死亡率增加的方式，展示了温度升高和原油暴露对早期生命阶段的协同不利影响。尽管胚胎暴露，但这些胁迫因素的联合作用在第一次摄食的幼虫阶段最为普遍，这突出了暴露对生存、生长和繁殖的潜在长期影响。我们的研究结果表明，北极变暖以及人类活动的增加将对这种环极饲料鱼类的早期生命阶段产生不利影响。
