The Antarctic ecosystem is progressively exposed to anthropogenic environmental
influences, such as ocean warming, ocean acidification and persistent organic pollutants. It is
expected that global warming will even increase levels of xenobiotics in Antarctica because
they will be more available for atmospheric transport and scavenged more effectively from
the atmosphere due to increased precipitation.
Our project focuses on the energy metabolism under environmental stress and the trade-offs
between energetically demanding processes such as biotransformation, metabolic
compensation and immune response of high-Antarctic fish species in response to multiple
stressors (temperature, pH and exposure to xenobiotics) on the one hand and the costs for
reproduction and growth on the other hand. We further will determine the level of cold
adaptation in various Antarctic species and populations, red and white-blooded
notothenioids, specifically from Filchner Outflow System, a biological “hotspot” in terms of
food availability and physical processes. Our integrative approach aims at assessing the
physiological vulnerability of high-Antarctic fish to climate change and anthropogenic
pollution over several levels of biological organization from the molecule to the whole
organism and to contribute to develop a basis for environmental conservation efforts